With Love
by TinyDancer14
Summary: Gabriella's always had Troy and her friends on her side whenever something went wrong. But she's faced with her biggest challenge the summer before Senior year. While she's weak, can she count on her friends to be strong?
1. Lamentation

**Welcome to the new story by me! I got this idea from... actually I don't even remember now. But that's probably because I've been working on it for the past two or three months. I've even got the first five chapters written. That's a big accomplishment for me. Hopefully you enjoy this and review it and don't pass it off to be some cliched story you think you can end yourself. Trust me, it's not that predictable.**

**I stole the story title from 'With Love' by Hilary Duff. It's the Junior Competition Team's jazz song this year. This chapter title is 'Lamentation' by Leah Andreone. Arielle's lyrical solo. Every chapter will have a song title that is being danced to by us. Cool idea, no? **

**I really don't own anything except this totally original plot. Honestly. Now read, review, and enjoy, okay??**

* * *

Chapter One: Lamentation

She was pacing around her spacious bedroom, her threadbare sock-clad feet wearing a path in her worn carpeting, a path traced back and forth, back and forth. Awaiting the test results she knew would come back positive. It wasn't sure of, not completely definite, but somehow, some way, deep down, she knew something wasn't right. It was her body and no one knew it better than she; giving her the lamenting confirmation of what she never believed could happen.

She had this sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach as she continued to pace the floor of her bedroom. It was the feeling you have as your being forced onto a rollercoaster you really had no intention of going on. When the ride attendant straps you into that seat and sits back in his booth you just know you're not getting out of it. There's no turning back as you inch up the first hill, slowly, taunting you with the idea of going over the edge. The people around you are excited, eager to scream in delight while you're just nervous, scared to the point of vomiting. And then you have no time to think of throwing up as your stomach is lost, plummeting down the tracks at breakneck speed. This was the sick feeling she had right now, as she took a deep breath and walked towards the bathroom once more.

Flicking the switch in her adjoined bathroom, light was brought to the room and its shiny bright rays bounced off of the walls and shower curtain, reflecting the opposite of the girl's apprehensive behavior. She looked up and met her reflection in the mirror; this was not her usual look. She was usually such a happy girl. She had near-perfect grades, a nice home, a wonderful boyfriend, great friends and a good mother. But today, right at this very moment, she did not look like this girl. Right now her face was pale, her eyes shining with a glimmer of distressed tears. Her hair was a matted mess tied in the back of her neck with a stretched out elastic and the little makeup she was wearing had been worn thin. Her eyes scanned the bathroom counter until they landed up the thin slender tube in between the two sinks. Taking a deep breath, she glanced to the end of the stick to meet her results.

Pink. Positive.

"No." She wailed, sinking down to the cold tile floor.

It was assured now. There was no denying what she had been for the past month. Everything fell into place and made perfect sense now. The missed period, the nausea, headaches... it all had a common connotation. It was like she felt her life slip out of her control. There would be no college, no career; anything she had worked and strived towards in her life was now thrown away and replaced by such a burden she, of all people, thought she'd never have to bear. For the past few weeks, she had tried to pass it off as the flu or some other ailment she'd researched. But now it was confirmed. She was not sick.

Gabriella Montez was pregnant.

* * *

She was pacing again, as she twisted a lock of curls around her finger, biting her lip and trying to come to terms with what she had just learned. For a moment she wanted to bask in the comfort of being the only one who knew. Eventually everyone at school would know, and it wouldn't be too comfortable for the whole school to be calling her a slut or a whore behind her back. And her mother would certainly not approve of this. She had always told Gabriella to not turn out like herself, pregnant at such a young age and alone after the boyfriend freaked and left, vowing to never return. How would she react when she found out Gabriella was following in her footsteps? 

Taking another deep, calming and soothing breath, Gabriella reached out to her desk and grasped her cell phone, discontinuing her pacing and sitting nervously at her desk. She scrolled through her list of contacts, trying to find the right person to tell first. Her mother was out of town visiting an old friend for at least a couple more days. Smiling somewhat when she reached the number of her best friend, she clicked 'Send' and the connection was made instantly.

"Hey Gabriella!" Taylor McKessie's cheerful voice echoed from the tiny cell phone. "I was just going to call you. I'm so bored."

"Taylor, I really need to talk to you."

"Ooh, what happened? Since school's out I never get any good gossip anymore."

"No Tay, this is so much more serious. Can you come over? Right now?"

"Sure Gab, don't sound so freaked."

She laughed nervously and ended the conversation, her mind on one thing and one thing alone. For some reason, even knowing the odds, Gabriella couldn't comprehend how she got pregnant. Now obviously, she knew _how_, but they had been so careful. They'd only done it twice; once on the night of his seventeenth birthday, and the second time a few weeks ago after the Evans' 'Farewell Summer!' party. But even though they've only done it twice, while Zeke and Chad bragged about hooking up at least ten times, each time they promised each other they would be completely safe. And if they'd used a condom, how could she be with child?

The doorbell rang and Gabriella braced herself for the conversation ahead. She adjusted her cream tank top before swinging the door open to reveal her best friend, who was clad in white shorts with a rainbow-striped belt, a dark blue t-shirt, and her hair curled and kept back with a headband. She grinned and stepped in from the smoldering heat, greeting her best friend with a hug.

"What's going on, Gabriella? You sounded really desperate."

Gabriella sighed. "This is really big, Taylor. Do you want some lemonade?"

"Sure," Taylor agreed, sitting down on a white armchair in the living room.

Placing a glass of sweet lemon liquid in front of Taylor and keeping one for herself, Gabriella sat across from her best friend and took a deep breath. "I really don't know how to tell you this."

Taylor sipped her lemonade. "I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything."

"I guess I should just come right out and say it then." She sighed. "Taylor... I'm pregnant."

The dark-haired girl practically choked on her lemonade. Coughing a bit before regaining her strength, she sputtered, "Y-you're what?"

"Pregnant."

"How can you be pregnant?"

Gabriella eyed her.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I know _how_, I just meant... wow. How do you know?"

"I took a pregnancy test I got at Walgreens." Gabriella admitted, taking another long gulp from her glass.

"Well, you might not be. I mean, those things are always wrong."

Gabriella shook her head. "That was the fourth one I've taken. They were all positive."

Taylor waited a long time before she asked, "Does he know?"

"You're the first one I've told."

"I can't believe you two had sex," Taylor shook her head unbelievingly. "He was a virgin, you know."

"So was I."

It was then that Taylor wrapped her best friend in a consoling hug. "I'm here for you, Gabriella. Anything you need, just remember I'm always here."

"Thanks Tay. Thanks so much."

Pulling away, she patted Gabriella's hand comfortingly. "But... you know what you have to do, don't you?"

Gabriella sighed tearfully and nodded. "I have to tell Troy."

* * *

Biting her lip nervously and wringing her hands, Gabriella approached the Bolton residence with great apprehension. How could she possibly tell Troy that he and she were going to be parents? They were barely seventeen and still had a full year of high school left to go before heading off in their separate ways. In a way though, Gabriella thought, this was a way to keep a hold on Troy. Who knows where they would both end up, but either way they would always have this baby to lead themselves back to each other. 

She reached out with shaking finger to ring the doorbell. Her lip was raw to the point of bleeding from the constant pressure of her teeth. The door opened slowly, as if it were as scared and nervous as she was. Jack Bolton, in his typical grey shirt and cyan basketball shorts, was at the door, chewing on an apple. He swallowed before greeting her.

"Miss Montez," He seemed surprised to see her, as if it were crazy that she was there at that moment. "How are you today, Gabriella?"

"I've been better," She admitted honestly. "I really need to talk to Troy."

"He's out back, come on in."

Gabriella followed him through the house until she reached the French doors leading to the court they had set up outside. She thanked Jack and stepped out into the hot sun, closing the door behind her. Walking up slowly to him, she tried to keep her emotions under control until after he knew the news. Troy noticed her and smiled genuinely, chucking his basketball over his shoulder and meeting her halfway.

"Hey Gabriella. I didn't know you were coming over."

"Neither did I."

He looked at her in concern. "Is everything alright?"

She shook her head sadly. "No... it's not."

After a few minutes when she didn't elaborate, Troy stepped closer to her, worried. "What's wrong Gabriella?"

This time, she sighed. "I already told Taylor. And my mom doesn't know yet."

"Know what?"

"Please don't freak out," Gabriella begged. "Please."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, offering her a small smile afterwards. "I will not freak out. Please just tell me what's going on."

Taking a calming breath, Gabriella closed her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Troy."

_I'm pregnant, Troy. I'm pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant._ The words that had just come out of his girlfriend's mouth swirled around in his mind. How? When? Why? They'd only done it twice and had used a condom both times. Had it broken? Or was this the four percent of the time the condom was not effective? Troy continued to stare at her, as if she was going to burst into laughter and shout, 'Just kidding! Man, I really fooled you!' But she didn't laugh and shout, she just continued to wring her hands nervously and chew on her lip, a nervous habit of hers. He was going to be a father. She was going to be a mother. They were going to be parents... at seventeen.

After a moment or so of silence, Gabriella looked up at him. "I'm really sorry, Troy."

He snapped back into reality and glanced at back at her, blue eyes gazing into dark browns. "It's not your fault, Gabriella. It's not."

"If we'd been more careful-"

Troy stopped her, placing a gently hand on her arm. "We were careful. How much more careful could we have been?"

She shrugged. "I just can't believe this. To us, of all people? It's okay, Troy. I'll raise the baby. You... have such an amazing future ahead of you. You could go pro and... I don't think you should jeopardize that."

Troy stared back at her incredulously. "What?"

"Your career is so huge. You've got such a great thing, and I don't want this to stand in your way. I understand."

"Gabriella, no way," He disagreed. "This might have been your mistake, but it's mine too. I'm not going to let you have all the responsibility for this."

Her eyes glistened. "Really?"

"Of course," He assured her. "I want to be a part of this."

Gabriella smiled, her lips quivering slightly. "I'm so scared."

Troy gathered her in his arms and she cried, for the first time admitting to herself that she was not ready for such an incredible occurrence. His arms tightened around her shaking frame as her entire body wracked with sobs. Both of them knew their childhoods were scarred, and the next nine months would be harder than anything they'd ever had to bear. Neither one had any clue as to what they were getting themselves into exactly, however they were both willing to face this fact, and as of now, that was as far as they had to go.

He kissed her hair lightly, before burying his face in her neck, allowing himself the time to soak in the air of lamentation.

* * *

**What did you think? Like? Don't like? Help me out and REVIEW! And I'm telling you this now, it's not going to be like the other 'Gabriella's pregnant, Troy stands by her' story. This is going to be wayyy more dramatic than that. I promise it won't be cliche and predictable, because I've already got the next four chapters written, and man oh man do things spiral out of control. So what do you think? Should I give it a try? Or should I shut it down? 'Cause I do have two other story ideas waiting on the lines...**


	2. Lose Control

**Thanks for your feedback on the first chapter. I'm constantly writing these chapters so updates should be fairly frequent. This _is_ going to be different than others, whether you believe me or not (not going to mention names... KhaliandTiffany). Give it a chance.**

**My disclaimer? Come on. You know I don't own anything. ;)**

**This chapter was named for the Mini Comp. Team's Hip-Hop dance to 'Lose Control' by Ciara/Missy Elliot. **

* * *

Chapter 2: Lose Control

Troy had comforted Gabriella that afternoon, promising the both of them that they would be alright, that they would handle the situation together. She had nodded and sniffled slightly, smiling despite the position and apologizing again. He begged her not to take the full accountability for said problem, and she shrugged but nodded, agreeing to quit belittling herself. Troy had hugged her once more, promised he'd call later on, and then kissed her goodbye, watching her leave in her red Toyota Camry. Turning back to his game, Troy tossed the basketball around for a few moments before deciding he really wasn't up for playing anymore.

He headed up to his bedroom and flopped on top of the bedspread. The soft material was cool against his hot skin, and he sighed, closing his eyes and resting his hands, which smelled of dirty basketball rubber, upon his eyelids. Hearing the soft padding of footsteps on the stairs, Troy groaned when he realized at some point, he and Gabriella would have to tell their parents respectively. Just thinking of the mere reaction of his parents killed him, and he was afraid to even begin to speak. Troy knew that Gabriella had been a result of teenage pregnancy, so Maria would be shocked but might understand. His parents, however, would not be so understanding.

There was a knock on the door of his bedroom and his father walked in, a grin upon his face. "That was hardly a workout, Wildcat. You gotta get into shape for this season!"

Even though Jack wasn't fully serious, Troy frowned. "Sorry Dad. It was too hot."

Jack sat down on the edge of the bed. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah."

"You sure? Gabriella looked kind of upset," He pressed on, knowing deep down something wasn't right.

"Yes Dad. We're fine." Troy replied coldly, turning away from him and standing up warily.

Jack just shook his head and left it at that. He paced out of the room and closed the door behind him as Troy was left alone, staring outside of his clear glass window across the street. He watched his neighbors kids play in their sprinkler, squealing and screeching as the icy cold water hit their skin. Their father came outside, grinning and laughing at the two and taking a photo, locking in this moment forever. His wife appeared behind him a few minutes later, a baby boy on her hip and an armful of glasses she struggled to distribute. The man laughed slightly and helped her out, setting the glasses on the picnic table beside him and tickling his son's belly. The two drenched kids yelled in excitement and wrapped themselves in towels, reaching for the glasses of pink lemonade their mother brought out. The father kissed the mother on the lips while the children drank and the baby boy squealed. Troy continued to watch the family and thought about just how much his life was going to change because of Gabriella being pregnant. In just a few short months, Troy would be in that fathering position instead of on the outside looking in.

He stepped back and sat in his desk chair, a new feeling of reluctant acceptance taking over him.

* * *

"Did you tell your mother yet?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she and Taylor turned the corner into the next aisle of Office Depot. It was August the thirty-first, four days after she had confessed to Taylor and Troy the deepest secret. School was to begin in just five days, and they needed to buy various supplies for their senior year at East High. Taylor picked up two packs of lined loose leaf paper, chucked them into the cart, and glared at her best friend.

"Well?"

"No," Gabriella sighed. "I didn't tell her yet. She had such a great time in Charlotte, and I really didn't want to ruin that by telling her this."

"Gabriella," Taylor began, stopping to toss in some fresh Ticonderoga pencils. "She's your _mother_. She really needs to know what's going on with you. And besides, don't you think she'll worry when you wake up throwing up tomorrow morning?"

Biting her lip, the brunette girl nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'll tell her tonight."

Taylor nodded, her eyes shining with the light of truth. "You better."

Gabriella just nodded softly, approaching the register to pay for her items. Once the different materials had been covered and distributed, Gabriella dropped Taylor off at her house and headed home to inform her mother of her stance. Pulling into the driveway, Gabriella took a deep, calming breath and stepped inside the house. The faint smell of spaghetti filled her nostrils and made her nauseous as she tried to enter the kitchen. The scent only grew stronger when she finally reached her destination and sat down at the wooden oak table. Maria grinned back at her and continued to stir the tomato sauce.

"Hi hun," Her mother responded, her arm moving rhythmically through the sauce. "Did you get everything you needed?"

Gabriella nodded, though her mother's back was turned. "Mom? Can you stop stirring that sauce? I need to talk to you."

She didn't tell her it was because she was feeling sick.

"Sure baby," Maria took a seat in front of her daughter and grasped her hands. "What's up?"

"Mom," Gabriella began. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to say."

"Oh my god," Maria wailed. "You're not going to go to Stanford!"

She bit her lip. "Well that's part of it. Normally, teens in this situation would avoid their parents, but you've been in this position before so... I knew you'd understand."

She watched her mother's eyes fill with tears. "Oh no... you're not..."

"I am."

"With Troy?"

She bit her lip again, nodding.

Maria looked down at her hands and slowly pulled them away from Gabriella's. She was silent for a long time before laughing and shaking her head, rising to stir the pasta sauce again. "It's alright, you'll just get an abortion. That'll rid you of this problem really fast and you can still go to Stanford and live your life."

Gabriella blinked in surprise. "An abortion?"

"Yes. People do it all over the place. This'll just be your turn."

The teenaged girl shook her head vigorously. "I'm not getting an abortion. No way!"

Maria whipped around. "Excuse me?"

"Mom I thought you were pro-life? That's why you went along with your pregnancy," Gabriella retorted.

"I was pro-life. But Gabriella, you cannot do this to yourself. You can't make the same mistake I made!!!"

Tears came to her own eyes as she backed up her chair, leaving the room. "I'm not getting an abortion!! You won't make me!"

"Oh don't think I won't! I'm making an appointment for Monday morning so it'll be done before school starts. Then you can pretend it never happened."

"No!" Gabriella wailed, fleeing the room and heading to her room. She was crying, her tears obstructing her vision as she slammed her bedroom door and dove upon her bed. Knocking things off of her bedside table as she absentmindedly searched for her cell phone, she continued to play the scene in her mind. Her mother's disappointed face, screaming back and forth at each other and debating over something she never thought they would. Gabriella tried to hold back her sobs as she heard the ringing on the small device.

"Gabriella?"

She lost control. "S-she's gonna m-make me get an ab-abortion, T-Troy. An abortion!"

Through her hysterical crying, Troy could barely make out what she was saying, though he did understand the word 'abortion'. "No, she can't do that."

"She is. S-she told me she was going to make the a-appointment t-tomorrow."

"Okay Gabriella, calm down," He cooed in a soothing voice in attempt to placate. "I didn't even know you told her."

"T-Taylor told me I should," Gabriella sniffled and lay back on her pillows. "Oh my god, Troy. What am I going to do? I don't want to get an abortion."

"Well it is your body. Who says you have to do what she told you to?"

"She did. She's my mother."

They were silent for a long time. Gabriella had ceased her crying fit and Troy had been listening to her breathe on the other end. He sighed finally and spoke up. "I guess we should probably tell my parents then... right?"

"Yeah."

"Tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"It's okay, Gabriella," Troy assured her.

Gabriella laughed coldly. "I wish I could believe that. But it's not."

* * *

The next night, after a scrumptious dinner of grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and a fresh garden salad (which hadn't made Gabriella ill, thankfully), Troy, his parents, and Gabriella settled in the living room with the evening news. Troy held Gabriella's hand tightly and securely as she stared down at her lap, not wishing to make eye contact with any of them at the moment. After hearing about the last minute rush to find difficult school supplies, Jack switched off the television set and stood up, stretching.

"Well, I've the back to school meeting for the staff tomorrow bright and early, so I better-"

"Wait Dad," Troy sighed. "Sit down."

Jack looked confused, but obliged and Anna Bolton glanced at her son in concern. "Is everything alright, Troy? Gabriella?"

Gabriella finally looked up and squeezed Troy's hand for comfort. "Not really Mrs. Bolton. Not really."

Jack nodded. "I knew it."

"Now, Gabriella already told her mother-"

"And she didn't react very well." Gabriella cut in.

"So, we just wanted to warn you. Please don't flip out, okay?"

Gabriella closed her eyes. "Mr. and Mrs. Bolton... I'm pregnant."

Anna was quiet; however Jack stood and motioned for Troy. Anger coursed through his veins as he spat, "Troy, in the study. _Now_."

Troy kissed the back of Gabriella's hand before dropping it and following his father out of the room. Gabriella was silent as she heard the door to the study slam and Jack Bolton lose control. Anna still said nothing as she wrung her hands in her lap and slowly took in the fact that she was going to be a grandmother at the mere age of forty-two. It was unfathomable that her son, seventeen years old, was going to be a father... already. She finally looked Gabriella in the eye and whispered,

"How long?"

"Um... about two weeks."

They were quiet again. Gabriella felt awkward in this position. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Bolton. I know how this must seem."

Anna shook her head, though small tears glistened her eyes. "No dear, sometimes these things happen. Unless you forgot protection. Did you use it?"

"Of course," Gabriella nodded. "But... they are only ninety-six percent effective. Luck wasn't on our side."

"So... what are you going to do?"

Gabriella smiled sadly. She hadn't gotten over this yet. "My mother's making me get an abortion."

Anna's eyes widened. "She is? That's horrible!"

"I really don't want to. But she won't listen to me."

The woman's heart bled for the girl. How could you force something so terrible on a child?

Troy and Jack entered the room again, visibly still reeling. Gabriella stood up. "I should probably go. I'm really sorry... again."

Troy's visage softened and he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, Gabriella. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Thanks Troy... so much. I love you too."

He watched Gabriella leave, glared at his father, and headed up to his bedroom. Anna stood and trudged over to her husband. "What did you say to him?"

"Does it matter Anna?"

"Jack, you can't chastise him for this! It's not like they didn't use protection!"

"You don't understand how this is going to ruin his future!!" Jack reciprocated

Anna gaped at him. "Is that all you care about? His future? Jack, what if he doesn't want to play basketball all his life? You can't control him forever!"

Jack sighed, running a cool hand over his face. "I'm just looking for what's best for him. And having a child at seventeen is definitely not it."

"I know. It's not what we planned for him, and it's certainly not what he chose," Anna's voice lowered. "But he really needs us right now. And so does Gabriella. She already has her mother against her, we can't be too."

He glanced at his wife. "She is?"

Anna nodded. "Maria wants her to get an abortion. She's actually forcing her."

Jack chewed on his lip, regretting ever have losing control. "I... didn't know that."

"Well before you yell at them, you need to learn all of your facts. Troy and Gabriella made a mistake. And losing control is not going to help them right now."


	3. Uninvited

**First things first: Thank you all sooo much. I'm loving the feedback so keep it coming. Second, I am pro-life, but I understand others do not feel the same way. It's okay, I respect your opinion. And third, this chapter is one of my personal favorites. So hopefully I'll get a few reviews for it... please:)**

**Do I really need a disclaimer for every single chapter? You all know I don't own anything.**

**This chapter title came from the song 'Uninvited' by Alanis Morissette. Sara's lyrical solo.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Uninvited

September third. Her scheduled abortion date.

Never in a million years did Gabriella Montez think she would be terminating a pregnancy. Of course, she never thought she'd be pregnant at seventeen either, but this was certainly not the way she wanted to end this. She sat in a hard plastic chair, a dingy gray in color, and stared down at the tiled floor. She had an unreadable message upon her face, though through the sheet of emotion only one read through- terror. She was completely and utterly horrified that her mother would actually make her do this. If Maria went through with her pregnancy, why couldn't Gabriella?

Troy sat beside his girlfriend, almost as nervous as she was. He didn't know exactly how this worked, but he knew the logistics. The process was actually kind of disturbing, and he kept his gaze away from the pictures and posters of abortion results on the wall. He glanced over at Gabriella, who was just calmly staring at the ground, a stony look on her face. His eyes slid to her abdomen, which was still flat, as she was only a month along. He watched as her stomach rose and fell, realizing their child was going to be taken from them. Troy reached over and gripped her hand.

"You really want to do this?"

"Of course not," Gabriella responded quietly, her eyes still fixed on the ground. "But I don't have a choice."

"But you do, Gabriella. This is your baby... our baby. Not your mother's. She can't decide this."

"She'd kill me if I didn't do this."

Troy opened his mouth to respond just as the door opened and a man in a white lab coat stepped out. "Miss Montez?"

She drew in a deep breath and squeezed Troy's hand. "I'll be back."

Troy watched her disappear behind the wooden door before closing his eyes and leaning his head against the white wall behind him. He tried to rip his mind from the grasp of thoughts of abortion, but just as it was trying to leave his mind, a woman left the clinic in sobs. Troy sighed and reached into his pocket as his cell phone vibrated against his leg, eager to enter a conversation that didn't have to do with this atmosphere.

"Hey man, where are you? We're supposed to meet up with the team today!" Chad's over-excited voice rang out from the device. "How're we supposed to have a team meeting without the captain?"

Troy exhaled. "I'll be there soon, Chad. I'm with Gabriella right now, but-"

Chad laughed. "Of course you're with _Gabriella_," There was a roar of commotion in the background as he put extra emphasis on her name. "But can you just tell her this is really important?"

"I would, Chad, but this is a little bit more important than basketball."

He gasped dramatically. "Really? Sex with your girlfriend is more important than _us_?"

Troy groaned. "We're not having sex, Chad. I'll be there soon, alright?"

"Dude, seriously, you don't have to be all touchy about it. I mean, me and Tayl-" Chad continued to joke, but stopped abruptly when he heard the doctorial announcement in the background. "What was that? Are you at the hospital, man?"

He was quick to answer. "No."

"Then what was that?" The basketball team was completely silent.

"Nothing," He tried blowing it over like it was no big deal. "Look, I'm on my way, okay?"

But he didn't know how long these things take, and glancing at the clock, Troy wasn't sure if he would exactly be 'on his way.'

* * *

Gabriella followed the doctor into the small clinic room and watched cautiously as he closed the door. He motioned for her to lie on the cold iron table and remove her shirt. She obliged, however continued to watch him as he washed his hands and sterilized his equipment. She eyed the syringe and quickly looked away, but found her gaze was now resting upon a picture of a deformed child, the headline reading, 'Abortion: Is It Safe?'. Gabriella sat up again.

"Excuse me, doctor. Um... is this safe?"

He gave her a warm smile. "Of course. The way I'm doing it is perfectly safe, however, there are some ways that are... well, risky. But we won't get into those. Now lie down."

But she didn't give up right away. "Will... will the baby feel this?"

"It might feel a slight burning sensation, but it'll most likely just be quick and painless. Lie down, hun."

She did, and he swabbed a cool liquid across her belly. She recognized the machine next to him as an ultra-sound wave machine, and her eyes shone. "What're you doing?"

"I have to figure out the exact placement of the embryo," He explained. "So I know where to place the needle."

Once found, he made a small mark on the skin and turned the machine away. Gabriella's heart beat faster, her breathing quickened, the light in the room suddenly becoming too bright and the air too warm to breathe. It was happening now, there was no turning back. Once the point was inside her skin, the syringe pushed, the liquid entered... it was all over. She watched the doctor with terror as he walked closer to her with the shot of death. He placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her shaking frame steady as he hovered over her skin with the tip of the needle. Her shoulders dug into the cold metal of the table, a wave of nausea whipped through her like fire, and she gulped, trying to squeeze her eyes shut but finding she could not. Just as it was about to enter her stomach, she screamed out,

"Don't!"

The doctor looked surprised. "What?"

Gabriella was near tears now as she sat up. "Please don't do it. I can't... I can't go through with it."

He stepped away from her as he watched her pull her shirt back over her head. "Are you sure? You're only seventeen."

"I know," She gulped. "But I really can't kill this child. I just can't. I'm sorry I took up your time."

The doctor shook his head, placing the needle back on the countertop by the sink. "It's alright. We have at least five women who freak out and call it off everyday."

Gabriella nodded and reached for the handle of the door. "Thanks anyway."

"No problem."

She walked the long hallway alone and in silence, completely content with her decision. There was no way she could possibly kill off a child, and her mother was not going to force her to do so. Maybe she didn't even have to tell her. Maybe she could hide it well enough until it was too late to get an abortion and then she could raise the baby the way she wanted to from the start. Just because this child was uninvited, didn't mean she had to get rid of it in such a cruel way.

Gabriella opened the door and glanced around for Troy, wanting immediately to leave this horrid place. He was on his cell phone and didn't notice the door creaking open, so she walked over to him hurriedly, hoping he'd hear her coming. "Troy... let's go."

Troy glanced up at her in surprise. "I'm coming Chad, okay? Just calm the hell down." Hanging up, he stood and took her hand. "It's over already?"

Gabriella shook her head, tugging at his hand and begging him to leave the clinic. "No... I didn't do it."

"What?!?"

"I couldn't do it, Troy," She sighed, climbing into the passenger side of his truck. "And I don't care what my mother's going to do to me. When he came near me with that needle..." She shuddered. "There's just no way I would've done it."

Troy smiled. "You did the right thing."

She grinned as well. "I thought so."

"So," Troy started, turning into the East High parking lot. "We're... going to be parents, huh?"

"Looks like it."

"You know, I think... it'll be okay."

Gabriella glanced over at him. "You do?"

"Yeah I think we can do it. I mean, it's gonna be hard, but... what isn't?"

She kissed his cheek. "You're right. I love you."

He grinned, an arm around her waist as they walked up the sidewalk of East High for the team meeting. "Love you too."

* * *

"What do you mean you didn't do it?!?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She was sitting cross-legged on Troy's bed, her cell phone propped up against her ear as she conversed with Taylor on the other end. Troy was at his desk, throwing an orange bouncy ball against the wall and catching it, bored and un-amused. Maria Montez and Jack and Anna Bolton were having a conversation in the kitchen after finding that Gabriella had in fact _not _gone through with the abortion. The two were told to find something productive to do while they spoke of 'how to deal' with their situation.

"No, Taylor. I didn't do it. I was lying on that table, ready as ever... I guess. And then the doctor came over with the needle and I was like, 'Oh my god, I can't do this!' So I didn't."

"Wow," Taylor said in awe. "Good for you. I wouldn't have either. What did your mom say when she found out?"

"Well I got home from the appointment, and she asked how it went and I said it was okay. And then she told me I was lying and asked if something went wrong and I said no. But then she stared at me for a long time, and I could've sworn she saw my eyes change, 'cause the next thing she said was, 'You didn't do it.' And I told her I did, but she said I was lying to her and how couldn't I have gone through with it when I wanted so much for my life. But I told her this child didn't deserve to die and she just sighed, complained of a migraine and told me we were going to the Bolton's. And here we are," Gabriella explained. Troy smirked and bounced the ball off of the wall again.

"I don't get it. Your mom should be so understanding because this happened to her... but she's not." Taylor shook her head, the phone vibrating.

"I know, and it really bothers me. Like, why was it okay for her to raise a baby, but I can't?" Gabriella sighed. "And-OW!" The bouncy ball ricocheted off of the wall and collided with her skull. "Troy!"

Troy was obviously laughing, but tried to pull a straight face when apologizing, "Sorry."

"Anyway, I'll talk to you later, Tay."

"Yeah. School starts in two more days!"

"Yippee."

Taylor laughed at her best friend's sarcastic enthusiasm. "Bye Gabriella."

"See you, Taylor."

Chucking her phone back inside her purse, Gabriella glanced at Troy, who was now sprawled out on his bed in front of her. "Troy?"

"Uh-huh?"

"What do you think they're going to make me do?"

"I don't know, Gabriella."

"Well... if our child was to come to you and say, 'Dad, I'm pregnant,' what would you do?"

Troy looked up at her with a silly grin on his face. "Well first I'd beat the shit out of the boyfriend. Then I'd tell her that teen pregnancy is hereditary, apparently."

Gabriella laughed.

"Then... I'd tell her whatever she decided to do was her decision and I'd support her no matter what."

"Really?"

"I think so... I mean, I'd be disappointed first, of course. You know, like my parents. They were pretty pissed at first... but now they're kinda okay. There's nothing I could do to fix it, so... it's her responsibility and I'd help any way I could. That's what my mom told us."

She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For saying all that. I don't know why... but it made me feel so much better."

He kissed her again. "Well you're welcome. I don't know what I did, but... you're welcome."

"Troy! Gabriella! Downstairs please!" Anna's voice rang out from the foot of the stairs. The teen couple made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen, hand in hand, as they sat in front of their respective parents to face the wrath of punishment.

"Gabriella honey," Anna started after a moment of silence. "Your mother wasn't very happy with your decision today. But after a long talk we've come to an agreement."

"W-What is it?" Gabriella asked cautiously. Troy squeezed her hand for comfort.

"I'm going to allow you to go through with this," Maria inhaled sharply, as if taking a physical blow. "As long as you seriously consider adoption._Seriously_."

Gabriella gave Troy a side-glance. She was keeping this baby. "I can do that."

The parents continued to talk about punishments for the two for getting pregnant in the first place, but Gabriella wasn't really listening. She knew now that even though she would have to pretend to consider adoption, this baby was going to be hers. She wasn't going to give it to a stranger just because she made a mistake. Yes, that certainly was the responsible thing to do, but she's a pregnant teenager, is she so responsible?

As she left the Bolton residence that evening, she knew no matter how uninvited this child was, it was not going to be unloved.


	4. Get Happy

**Honestly, I'm loving your reviews. They keep me very entertained. And no, because I said, I'm pro-life so I could never make Gabriella get an abortion. That would go against my beliefs, hahah. I'm going to update "Deep" probably... I don't know. But very soon. I promise, I didn't forget about that story. Hopefully you're reading it. :) This is another one of my favorite chapters- Gabriella's first prenatal appointment. It's such a beautiful thing to see a fetus through an ultrasound. I remember going to the doctor's with my mom when I was seven and seeing my sister for the first time. That was such an amazing experience. So enjoy this one, and review like always!**

**I don't own anything. My prenatal development facts came from pregnancy . org and my own knowledge. What can I say? I know my stuff.**

**This chapter title comes from the song 'Get Happy' by Judy Garland. Mini Competition Team's tap dance. **

* * *

Chapter Four: Get Happy

"What time's the appointment today?"

Gabriella sighed in frustration. "I already told you this eight times already!!"

It was mid-October now, the eighteenth to be exact, and Gabriella had her first prenatal appointment today. Troy had thought he was just asking a simple question, but forgot how moody she'd become over the past few weeks. They were at her locker before lunch and he watched as she struggled to put her books away and extract her lunch from her book bag. She was exhausted, he knew, and the morning sickness was more than she could handle. It was so bad she usually skipped the first two periods in the morning. Troy sighed.

"Do you want some help?"

"No," She snapped. "I've got it."

He held up his hands. "Okay, chill out."

"The freaking appointment," She hissed, finally breaking her lunch free from the bag and slamming her locker closed. "Is at four o' clock. If you paid attention the first time, maybe you would know that."

"Sorry," Troy replied shortly, already praying for this to be over.

There was an awkward silence between them.

"Gabriella," He began, trying not to sound too frustrated. "You never told me what time the appointment was in the first place."

"Yes I did!" She shouted, turning to him just outside the cafeteria doors. A few students turned to glance in their direction. "I told you last night when we went to Pinkberry for frozen yogurt."

"I was with Jason last night, Gab," He explained. "You went to Pinkberry with Taylor."

"No I didn't! 'Cause we-" She began to fight back, but soon realized he was right. "Oh my god."

Troy laughed slightly, triumphant in winning the argument, but Gabriella just looked at him before bursting promptly into tears. Her books slammed to the floor followed by her brown bagged lunch which spilled its contents all over the ground, her hands flying instantly to her face to hide the tears that were spilling down her cheeks at a rapid speed. The bell rang, and students hurried to their sixth period class while Troy still stood dumbfounded by Gabriella's breaking down. He finally came to his senses a moment later and pulled her into his chest.

"Gabriella... it's not a big deal."

"It is," She cried. "I was such a bitch and you didn't deserve it 'cause I didn't tell you in the first place and you just asked a simple question and I-"

"Calm down, babe. Seriously." Troy cooed, kissing her cheek as he pulled away to pick up her belongings.

She wiped her eyes, sniffling a bit. "This is how I was a few days ago too. Taylor got me this," Gabriella retrieved a soft-cover book from her bag when Troy handed it to her. "And I started freaking out. I hate these damn hormones!"

He took the book from her and began to flip through it. "_What to Expect When You're Expecting_, huh? Let's see what we've got... ah, Symptoms of Early Pregnancy. Nausea and vomiting, also known as morning sickness, drowsiness, headaches, oh, look here, mood swings. Definitely you."

"I hate this!" Gabriella repeated. "When do these freaking things end?"

"The symptoms?"

"Yeah."

"... I'd rather not answer that, Gabriella."

"When do they end, Troy?!"

"Really, I don't think you want to know-"

"Just tell me when they freaking end!!"

He sighed. "In seven months. When the pregnancy ends."

Gabriella let out a cry and sunk her face into her hands again. "Oh my god, this is so long!! I can't take it!"

"You've still got seven months to go," Troy pointed out. "And I really think you can do it. Plus, according to this book, the symptoms aren't even the worst part of the pregnancy."

"They're not?" She asked skeptically, taking the book from him and shoving it back in her bag. "Really? Well why don't you tell me that after _you've_ been pregnant, okay Troy?"

Troy sighed as they finally headed to lunch. Only seven more months...

* * *

"So... are you and your mom speaking yet?" 

Gabriella shook her head. "Nah. She still can't accept the fact that I'm pregnant. Her parents through her out on the street when they found out; I think that's what she's planning on doing to me at some point."

"Don't talk like that!" Taylor ordered. "She's your mother. She wouldn't do that to you."

She shrugged. "You never know, Taylor. Mothers can do whatever the hell they want."

"God Gabriella, get happy!" Her best friend shrieked, causing a few stares to be directed her way. "All you've done for the past two months is mope around and it's so freaking _annoying_!"

"Taylor," Gabriella gritted her teeth. "If you were freaking pregnant at seventeen, wouldn't you be this pissed too?"

"Well first of all, I_ wouldn't_ be pregnant at seventeen. I'm not that irresponsible," Taylor replied matter-of-factly. Gabriella seethed with anger. "Second of all, I would get over it eventually. I mean obviously there's nothing I can do about it now. It's already happened and I wouldn't get an abortion. So... it's all up from there."

At the first part of the statement, Gabriella reeled. But the second part truly made her think. Taylor was right; she's _always_ right. There's nothing she could do about it now. And unless she decided to give it up for adoption, which she still promised her mother she would 'consider,' it was going to be here in several months time. Basically, this baby was coming, whether she was happy about it or not. She might as well just be happy.

She sighed. "You're right Taylor. And I'm sorry about the way I've been acting. It's these stupid pregnancy hormones! I'm all out of whack!"

"I know," Taylor reached for her hand and squeezed it for sympathy. "But that's why you have an amazing best friend who understands you."

Gabriella laughed. "Of course."

"So... it's been almost eleven weeks so far. How's it been?"

"Horrid. I can't wait for this terrible morning sickness to pass."

"Besides that?"

"Pretty uneventful besides that," She answered truthfully. "I still look the same and feel fine except in the mornings. But I'm really tired afterwards. You know, like after the mornings pass, the sickness is gone but then I get this incredible fatigue. It sucks."

"Have you been reading the book I got you?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's pretty boring so far." She nodded, and then discontinued the topic being discussed as she noticed Troy and Chad saunter into the library.

"Hey Gabriella, you ready to go?" Troy asked his girlfriend, reaching for her hand.

She took it and stood, motioning a goodbye to Chad and Taylor. "I'll talk to you later."

As the couple began to walk away, Taylor jumped up and raced after her best friend. "Gabriella, wait! I-I need to know. Can I... Can I tell Chad?"

"Taylor he has the biggest mouth in the whole school."

"But Gabriella, he's my boyfriend. I can't keep this from him. Please?"

Gabriella sighed, glancing at Troy for an answer who just shrugged. "I don't know..."

"Never mind. I won't. Sorry for even asking, it was really selfish of me."

Gabriella smiled and she and Troy left the building. Taylor turned back to Chad and whispered, "Can you keep a secret?"

* * *

It was so quiet in the small little clinical annex you could've heard a pin drop. 

Troy sat beside the table Gabriella was lying upon. He glanced around the room, awkwardly coming face to face with different diagrams of fetal position or placental care. Granted, he had already taken Biology and passed with flying colors, but still looking at these graphic posters was a little too much for his sanity. Instead he focused on one of the laminated sheets that described the diet for pregnant women. It was better than the alternative, that's for sure.

Gabriella, however, was not feeling awkward, just incredibly nervous. She was afraid as to how the doctor would react when she found she was only seventeen. And of course, she had never gone through anything so life-altering, and the consequences and responsibilities she'd have were nonetheless terrifying. She needed a doctor she could confide in and be dependent on, because the reality of the situation had never felt so real and suddenly it felt like her world was caving in.

The door opened then and a short, thin woman, near age thirty-five or so, walked in, her face displaying a cheerful smile. She didn't look like she was horrified by their case of teen pregnancy, but her speech might just say otherwise. She wore jeans and a short-sleeved floral top, different from the usual scrubs Gabriella saw doctors on television wear. A white lab coat topped off her look, and a ponytail holder held back her long black hair. She greeted them both with a wave.

"Good afternoon you two!"

"Hello," Gabriella smiled timidly.

"My name's Kathy Stewart," She shook both of their hands. "Welcome to the OB/GYN. I understand this is probably the first time you've been here for... _this_ reason, huh?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Well I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or bad about your actions. It happens sometimes, and you've made the responsible decision."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Gabriella. And you," Kathy motioned to Troy. "Must be the father, I presume?"

He nodded. "Troy Bolton."

"Nice to meet you. Alright, I'm going to give you the brief description of what's been happening since conception and implantation. So just sit back and relax, okay?"

They both uttered the positive and Kathy pulled down a slide projector and switched off the lights. "Okay, this is a slide show I've put together for all of my clients. It shows some pictures and descriptions of what's happening. I'm sure you're curious as to why you've seen changes in your body, right?"

"Definitely."

"Well, right from the start, your child's gender is already determined. We won't be able to tell whether it's a boy or a girl for another few months, but he or she certainly knows!" She laughed slightly before changing the slide, which showed a very small black object, resembling a lima bean. "This is about the size of your baby from two or three weeks ago. That's is why your stomach is still flat, dear. And on this next slide, week eight, see these long tubules? Those are the intestines."

"Um, why aren't the intestines _inside_ the body?" Troy asked confusedly.

Kathy smiled. "I get asked that question all the time. Some of the body's organs- the intestines, the pancreas, and a lot of muscle tissue- form inside the umbilical cord. They move into the body for correct placement within the first month or so."

She clicked to the next slide, which showed a lucid amniotic sac filled with an extremely small fetus, which looked somewhat like an alien. "This is the size of your child by now- near the end of week ten. He or she is about 1.2 inches long and weighs about 0.14 ounces. Incredibly small and very _very_ light, right?"

"That's amazing," Troy commented, truly captivated by the information. Gabriella was speechless.

"Most of the joints in the body are formed by now, and trust me, even though you can't feel it, he or she is flexing and moving around in there! The fingerprints are evident in the skin, the eyelids are fused shut and the irises are developing, which determine the eye color, and Gabriella, your placenta is now fully functioning, so make sure you're eating everything you're supposed to! Well, that's about it. Do either of you have questions?"

Troy gave Gabriella a look but she didn't catch it, and shook her head slowly, still wrapped up in the whole idea.

"Okay then! It's off to the physical exam and then I have some medical questions for both of you. Gabriella, if you'll just follow me, we'll change you into a smock and then..." Kathy's voice trailed off as she led Gabriella out of the room.

About an hour later, the physical was through when they found Gabriella was completely healthy. Then she and Troy were grilled on their families' medical history; Kathy needed to know what kind of medical problems this child could or could not have. She then gave Gabriella a list of the foods to stay away from and a dietary guideline on how to provide her baby with the best prenatal care possible. After filling out a prescription for prenatal vitamins, Kathy turned to the two of them with a smile.

"This is my favorite part," She grinned. "Your first ultrasound."

Gabriella smiled softly and Troy stood beside her, gripping her hand which she clung to tightly. Kathy swabbed the cool jelly across her stomach, and turned on the machine, adjusting the screen so the three of them could all see. She then typed in Gabriella's name, the date, and the clinic's information- just custom rules she needed to post in order to be able to print it in the end. Turning back to Gabriella, she gripped the handle and placed it on the skin of her belly.

"Now... let's find ourselves a baby."

And after only a few moments of searching, Kathy sighed triumphantly, pointing to the screen. "There we are. There's the head, the chest, a leg. So small, isn't it?"

They both leaned in and were amazed by what they saw. It had to be no larger than the palm of their hands, but yet you could still clearly make out the head, the face, the eyes; even the cute little nose and mouth were there. It seemed to be rising up and down just slightly- breathing. The chest which was probably the width of four fingers, but it was vibrating almost rapidly- the heart was beating. It was absolutely the most amazing thing either of them have ever seen. Troy gave Gabriella's hand a squeeze and she returned it, her eyes still not leaving the small computer screen.

All she could think at this moment was how easy this had caused her to get happy.


	5. Feedback

**Hello fanfiction readers! Here I am again. I just spent like twenty minutes mapping out the rest of the story, and it was a lot harder than I thought. But let me be the first to say this chapter is the last of the happy romance fluff, as it will be much more dramatic from here on out. Excited? I thought so.**

**I own nothing. So kiss it.**

**This chapter title comes from the song 'Feedback' by Janet Jackson. Senior Comp. Team's hip-hop dance.**  


* * *

Chapter Five: Feedback

It was November 15. Gabriella was beginning to show.

"Negative feedback," She whined the whole drive to school. She knew that's exactly what she'd be receiving.

She knew exactly what to wear to make her seem as if nothing were wrong- a dark blue shirt that hung loosely around her and a pair of dark jeans. Dark colors made a person appear slimmer, and technically that's exactly what she needed. She didn't need to attract attention to her swelling stomach. Who wouldn't feel this way? Gabriella knew that a few other girls who got pregnant _wanted_ the attention, and wore tight fitting shirts and skinny jeans to show off their pregnancy curves.

Not Gabriella. There was no way she'd want to display this.

She was in her sixteenth gestational week. The morning sickness had decreased and almost gone completely away, the headaches and exhaustion were far behind her, and she was finally feeling good about this. She was done trying to convince her mother that it was a mistake and she deserved some kind of support. If Maria didn't want to offer, Gabriella didn't want to have to beg. Her next prenatal appointment was next Friday, and she couldn't wait to see the progress her son or daughter has made. 

After all, teenager or not, this was pretty amazing.

It was fourth period now, and Gabriella was in her art class she had with Kelsi and Taylor. They were working on sculpting a chosen object out of terracotta clay. Their teacher had written a different object on a different slip of paper and had them choose theirs out of a basket. Kelsi had gotten a bird. Taylor had chosen a tree. Both of their projects looked so much better than what they thought they would look like. But Gabriella received a vase of flowers. And to her opinion, it looked horrible.

"You guys," She complained again. "I could make the vase. Like honestly, I could handle that. But a vase of _flowers_? You've got to be kidding."

Their art teacher, Miss Monet, came up beside her. "Miss Montez, a vase of flowers is a very delicate thing. Put you mind and soul into the creation. Be the vase. Be the flowers. Be the water droplets as they splash to the bottom. I believe you can do it. You have the potential to..."

Gabriella wasn't listening anymore. She pushed back from the art table; a hand clapped over her mouth, and ran from the room. Miss Monet looked surprised and glanced at Taylor in question.

"Um... she's just getting over the flu," Taylor offered. "I'm not sure she's better yet."

The teacher nodded slowly. "Oh... I see. Well, would you check on her for me? These sorts of things always worry me."

"Sure. Be right back Kels," Taylor called before leaving the room.

She walked quickly down the hallway, scanning each of the doors until she found the one for the girl's bathroom. Pushing the door open with a slight force, she checked the stalls to find which one Gabriella was occupying. Her answer came when the closet one to the door opened slowly and her best friend stepped out, reaching towards the sink to wash her mouth out. Once doing so, she wiped her mouth with a paper towel and Taylor offered her a piece of wintergreen gum.

Gabriella took it gratefully. "Thanks Taylor."

"No problem... you okay?"

"No," She moaned. "I thought that the morning sickness was over, but apparently it's not. I'm bloated and irritated, and I'm starting to show. Do you see this? You can actually see that I'm pregnant now!"

Taylor was about to respond when she heard a gasp emitted from one of the stalls. Slowly, the stall farthest to the right slid open and out stepped... Sharpay Evans.

"You're... You're...?" Her perfectly manicured hands shook as a single finger pointed at Gabriella accusatorily. 

Gabriella's and Taylor's faces were struck with horror, their eyes wide. "No... no Sharpay... I-"

"I won't tell anyone." She stated firmly, leaving the bathroom. "I won't tell, I promise!"

The door closed. Silence.

"She's going to tell the whole school isn't she?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

* * *

By sixth period everyone in the entire school knew Gabriella was pregnant. As they passed her in the hallways, they would stare pointedly at her stomach, as if the child was going to fall out of her instantly with their piercing glares. They avoided looking at her face, afraid that if they looked her in the eye something horrible was going to happen to them. No rumors had started yet, thankfully, and she hadn't yet been called a slut or a whore. She was relieved to say the least.

Gathering her things for seventh period calculus, Gabriella was seemingly unfazed by the revelation of her pregnancy. She loaded her math book and other necessary items and materials into her bag, and began to head off to class. Just as she closed her locker, Troy appeared next to her, a look of confusion and surprised etched across his face. She greeted him with a small smiled, noticing something was up... and she was sure it had to do with him just finding out that now, everyone knew.

"Gabriella..." He started, but didn't continue. It looked as though he couldn't say anything. 

"I know, Troy. Everyone in the school knows now."

"But why? And... how?"

"Sharpay," Gabriella exhaled, beginning to walk to her class. "She was in the bathroom today when Taylor and I were talking about it."

"Oh good," Troy sighed in relief. "I thought Chad told everyone and I knew you'd kill-"

"Wait, Chad knew?" She stopped walking, placing a hand on her hip and waiting for a response. "Chad knew I was pregnant?"

Troy looked away, her icy glare isolating him. "Um... well, yeah."

"I'm gonna kill Taylor!" She screeched. "I freaking told her not to tell anyone! I confided in her because she was my best friend! God, you think you know someone! But then they turn around and stab-!"

Gabriella stopped shouting. Her entire face dropped of all its anger and turned into a state of shock. Her eyes widened and her breath nearly stopped. She felt as though the world had just stopped spinning and her heart stopped beating. The anger she was just feeling slipped away and was replaced by a sentiment of joy and astonishment. Did that really just happen? Or was she imagining it? Wasn't it too early to feel this? Apparently not, because before Gabriella knew it, it was happening again. Just a small vibration, but it was there and she could feel it. Troy glanced at her in concern as she rested the palm of her hand upon her stomach.

"Gabriella? Are you okay?"

Her eyes were filling with tears and Troy continued to stare at her, wondering what was going on. "Gabriel-"

"It's moving," She whispered quietly, her hand stroking her belly rhythmically. "The baby's... moving."

He was in such awe that he couldn't respond.

She squealed. "It's doing it again! Here, right here," She reached out for his hand and placed it on her stomach, right above where she felt the movements. "Do you feel it? Do you?"

And to be honest, he didn't. Gabriella was ecstatic, and began talking about how long she's been waiting to feel the first movements and how she didn't know how long it would take. She kept saying how she didn't think it would've come this early, but was so glad that it did. He glanced at her, not fully processing everything that was his girlfriend was saying to him because he was too focused on trying to feel the movements. But nothing was happening. He wanted so desperately to feel something, so he could share in the joy too, but there was nothing.

Suddenly, like the blink of an eye, it happened.

A small fluttering sensation occurred beneath his hand, sending tingles throughout the nerves in his body and up and down his spine. It wasn't anything big, like kicking or anything since that couldn't happen for another few weeks, but just the small stirring impression made him feel as excited as she was. For the first time, her pregnancy actually felt real to him. He had just felt the life he created move and it was one of the most amazing experiences ever.

"Yeah," He grinned. "I feel it."

* * *

"How have you been feeling Gabriella?"

The couple was in the clinic for the second time, and Gabriella sat upon the table in her doctor's gown, something she complained about wearing constantly. "It's itchy and doesn't tie in the back," she'd say. "I'm exposed to everyone." And then Troy would explain that the only people in the room were he, she, and the doctor, and she'd be lying down most of the time anyway. She just liked to complain about trivial things like most women. Especially now, since her pregnancy.

"I've been better," She replied honestly. "But the morning sickness is going away, I think. And I'm not as tired as I was before."

"Is she still moody, Troy?" Kathy asked with a smile.

Troy nodded, and received a glare from Gabriella. "What? You are!"

"Anyway, last week we felt the first movements," She gushed. "It was amazing."

Kathy smiled. "Those usually are. You should be feeling a lot more of those more frequently, and they will get harder as you child gets bigger."

"I can't wait."

"Can we tell if it's a boy or a girl yet?" Troy asked eagerly. 

Laughing, Kathy shook her head. "A few more weeks, Troy. Right now, the genitals are much more distinct, but not very recognizable yet. We'll be able to tell in a few more weeks. So your next visit, okay?"

"Alright."

In the next few minutes, Kathy was running the ultrasound handle to find their baby again. Gabriella and Troy were anxious to see the child, but the look on Kathy's face worried them. She looked... puzzled.

"Um... is anything... wrong?" Gabriella asked, afraid of the answer.

"Your baby..." Kathy began, but didn't continue for a few moments. When she finally did, it was in a grave tone. "The movements you felt a week ago weren't normal."

"They weren't?"

"No. They were a sign of distress. You've got oligohydramnios."

Gabriella gulped, reaching for Troy's hand and squeezing it. "Wh-What does that mean?"

"It means you don't have enough amniotic fluid in the sac. Most of the organs in the digestive system aren't developing properly," Kathy informed, moving the handle to the right of Gabriella's stomach. "Now, this is very odd. If it's going to happen, it usually happens in the third trimester, but you're only just barely in the second. Hmm..."

"What can we do about it?" Troy asked, all the while wondering, _Is there anything we can do?_

"Well we caught it just in time. A few more weeks with this undetected and you could have had a miscarriage," She turned away from the screen to face them. "Gabriella I'm going to give you a syringe and vials of synthetic amniotic fluid. You'll have to give yourself injections twice a day."

"Whatever it takes," She replied reluctantly. "Where?"

"Directly above and directly below your navel," Kathy instructed. "You can alternate."

"Is this... extremely serious?" Troy inquired, wincing at the strong grip Gabriella had on his hand.

"It would've been had we not caught it, and it still will be if she doesn't give the injections routinely. But don't worry, everything should be fine now."

Too late for not worrying. Both were terrified.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella questioned in a small voice. 

"Yes dear. Make sure you give yourself the injections and you'll be fine."

The entire ride back to Troy's house was silent. Both of them were awaiting some feedback from the other on what they just learned, but neither of them knew what to say. Gabriella was absentmindedly flipping through the book of baby names Kathy had given her as a gift at the end of the visit while Troy was focusing on getting them both home safely and not running off the road in tension. When they finally arrived at his house, the entrance was still silent. Both settled themselves on his couch and didn't speak a word for a few moments.

The silence was unbearable.

"So... find any good names yet?"

She offered him a smile. "Haven't really looked."

"It'll get your mind off of the oligarchy or whatever it's called."

"It's oligohydramnios, Troy. And I'm glad you're dismissing it as if it's nothing."

"Gabriella," He groaned. "Kathy said the baby would be fine. You just have give the shots and everything will be normal."

"I know... but I can't help worrying."

He smiled. "It's your motherly instinct. But can we look at the names now? Please?"

"Fine," She agreed. "What letter do you want to start with?"

"Only the best letter ever," Troy grinned. "T."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Whatever," Perusing the contents of the page, she called out random names. "Tobias... Tasha... Tyrone... Tito... there are some weird names in here."

"Ew, pick a different letter." Troy demanded, disgusted.

"We'll start from the beginning," She decided. "Aaron?"

"Nah, sounds too theater. Like he'd be walking around with a scarf and a messenger bag or something."

She laughed. "You're so weird. How about Abigail? Abby's a cute name, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I like that one."

"Brad?"

"No."

"Brianna?"

"... Eh, no."

"Caitlyn?"

"Too common."

"Cameron?"

"Maybe."

"Daniel?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Delilah?"

"Delilah?" Troy repeated. "Gabriella, we're not hippies."

Gabriella burst into laughter. "I was just kidding! But hey, if we named her Delilah we could sing that song as a lullaby."

"This is true."

"Hmm... Elise?"

"Yeah I kinda like that."

"Eric?"

"Sure."

Gabriella didn't realize it, but the name searching was taking her mind off of the newfound pregnancy complication, and she felt at ease, enjoying the feedback she was receiving.


	6. Girlfriend

**Okay, can I just take the time to say that I hate this new "Documents" set-up? Look FanFiction, I know you're trying to be modern and all, but it's really annoying. The old one was better, honestly. Anyway, now that that's over, thank you for your wonderful reviews. I've been trying to write all of the chapters in advance, and after planning everything out, I've figured there is going to be fourteen chapters. I'm currently working on chapter ten. I think this story should be complete by the middle of April at the latest. And this chapter is where all the drama starts, hahah. Enjoy it!**

**I own nothing! As per the usual...**

**This chapter title comes from 'Girlfriend' by Avril Lavigne. The Senior and Junior Competition Teams' combo jazz dance.**

* * *

Chapter Six: Girlfriend

"I hate Troy Bolton."

Taylor McKessie rolled her eyes. This is what she'd been hearing the whole day.

"We established this already," She sighed helplessly. What was the use? She'd just say it again.

"It's just... he's so irritating!" Gabriella continued, squealing in repulsion. "It's like everywhere I turn, there he is! And he's so pushy! I can't freaking stand it anymore!"

"He's just trying to be helpful," Taylor offered, pulling a sheet of paper from her binder and flipping open her physics textbook.

"I don't know Taylor, sometimes I _wish_ I was doing this on my own. He's just... pissing me off. Either he's there all the time or he's not there at all. I just want a happy medium!"

The two were in the library during their free period, catching up on some homework and getting it done so they wouldn't have anything to do that night. Taylor's time had been productive; she'd already finished her history and her Latin homework. Now she was moving on to science. Gabriella, however, had spent the entire time complaining about Troy. The couple had been fighting nonstop for the past few weeks, and even though most of their friends didn't show it, it was annoying them out of their minds.

"I just need help, Tay," She admitted. "I don't know what to do."

"Can you stop talking about it? Then maybe you'll be able to get your mind off of it."

"I could try."

"God, thank you."

Gabriella eyed her best friend. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Taylor sighed again. "Just forget it."

"No no, I want to know now. What, is everyone getting pissed off at us because of this?"

"Do you think?" Her best friend questioned sarcastically. "All you two do is stomp around in anger all the time, cussing each other out. And Chad, Zeke, Kelsi and I... we don't wanna be a part of it, okay?"

The brunette didn't respond.

"We love both of you, and you're both trying to get us to take sides." She said softly. "We're not going to do that."

Gabriella gulped. "We have been doing that, haven't we?"

"Yeah. And I know that healthy relationships have to have their little... spats. But you two really need to work things out."

"You know, we could, but he just doesn't even care. I thought things were going to be different... like I thought he'd always be there for me throughout," She motioned towards her stomach. "This whole thing. And I don't even know what's happening. A few weeks ago he was exactly what I needed. And now..."

"Please just talk to him," Taylor begged. "Because this is giving me a headache."

Gabriella laughed. "Okay. I'll go find him."

* * *

"... and I can't take her mood swings. My god, it's like everything I say is wrong. Everything I try just pisses her off."

"Troy..." Chad started.

"So then I try to give her some space, and she gets mad at that too!" Troy slammed the basketball against the backboard of the hoop, watching angrily as it rolled around the rim and bounced to the floor. "She asks me where the hell I've been and why I don't care enough about _my_ child. I love how it becomes only my child when she's mad."

"Troy-"

"And I swear to god if this is how the rest of the five months are going to go, someone is going to be dead. Either it'll be me, from some sort of suicide, or her 'cause I just can't take it anymore!"

"TROY!" Chad screamed. "SHUT THE HELL UP!!"

Troy silenced.

He and Chad had spent their free period shooting some hoops and getting into shape for their big championship game that was coming up the following month. The healthy fun sport had turned into a full-time girlfriend bashing when Chad asked Troy how he and Gabriella were getting along these days. Now, Chad sat upon the bleachers, taking incessant gulps from his water bottle and listening to Troy complain as he angrily threw the ball around, missing lay-up after lay-up and not even catching the rebounds. And just like Taylor, Chad was starting to get annoyed.

"First of all, don't kill her. Or yourself. It's not worth it, man." He started, much more calm than Troy thought he would be. "Second, if you bitch and complain to me about your strained relationship _one more time_, I swear to god that basketball is going up your ass."

His best friend laughed, chucking the basketball over his shoulder and sitting beside Chad on the bleachers.

"Oh really?"

"Yes I can guarantee it," Chad said seriously. "And third of all-"

"Of course there's a third."

"There is. Third of all, you need a healthy way to let out your anger 'cause screaming and badmouthing your girlfriend isn't the way to do it."

"And you know a way?"

Chad grinned. "You bet I do."

Troy looked at him in curiosity. "How?"

"Follow me."

Chad hopped up from the bleachers, grabbing his gym bag and motioning for Troy to do the same. They headed into the locker room, showered up and changed their clothes quickly, throwing their gym bags back into their lockers. Chad snatched his backpack up from the ground and walked into the secluded portion of the computer lab, the part that was meant for those preparing oral presentations or a large project of some sort. He pulled up his screen, typing in his password and username before opening up a Word document and titling it 'Gabriella: Pros and Cons.' Troy glanced at him in confusion.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"This is the healthy way to let out your anger, man. Honestly. I do it with Taylor all the time. Whenever we fight, this is where I go."

"How is this going to help?"

"Trust me, it does. Here sit," Chad hopped up and pushed Troy onto the chair. "Now, start filling out the chart."

"I don't know where to start," Troy replied, glancing at the blank sheet.

"Pro, she's hot."

"Chad! This is my girlfriend you're talking about."

"What? She is! Write it down!"

He sighed and typed it into the pro list. "Pro, she's really smart. I hate girls that are superficial and dimwitted. Gabriella's not like that."

"There you go."

"Con, she's really self-conscious. She's always worried about what other people are thinking of her."

Chad cheered. "That's it, that's it! You're on a roll!"

"Con, she's really touchy. Everything you say to her is wrong."

"Uh-huh. What else Troy? What else??"

"And I mean if you really think about it, Gabriella and I have nothing in common. She's a brainiac, I'm a jock... con."

"Troy," Chad warned. "That's kind of pushing it. You two have a lot-"

"Con, I hate how the pregnancy has changed her. Absolutely _hate_ it." Troy ignored Chad's warning, continuing to type away. "I regret having sex sometimes."

"You do? Why?"

"Because then this never would've happened. Ugh! Con, she never knows what she wants. She'll tell me one thing and I'll do it, and then she'll say that's wrong and tell me something completely different."

"Bigger con," Chad gulped, his eyes growing wide. "She's here."

Troy whirled around in his chair to find Gabriella at the doorway, smiling ever so slightly at the two of them. "Hey guys. What are you doing in here?"

"I uh... we're just... doing... the English report." Chad answered lamely.

"Oh," Gabriella said skeptically eyeing the computer. "Why does your report have my name in it?"

Troy raced to turn off the screen, hitting some keys on the way. "It-it doesn't."

"Yes it does. It said my name at the top of the paper!"

They all heard a sudden whirring and whizzing sound from behind Chad. The printer.

"Shit it's printing! It's printing!!" Chad shouted. "What did you hit?"

"I-I don't know!" To Gabriella, he soothed, "Gabriella, really, there's nothing on that paper."

"What is it that you're hiding from me?" She asked quietly, watching Chad out of the corner of her eye. "What does it say?"

Chad snatched the paper from the printer and held it behind his back. "It doesn't matter, okay?"

"Troy... what does it say?"

There was something about her tone that made him twitch. She didn't sound as if she were angry or annoyed. She sounded... hurt. He knew that she'd come to find him so they could try and talk and work things out, but creating this list was the immature move that could cost him her trust. He stealthily took the list from Chad's hands and held it in his own hands, determined not to let her find out what was on that list, because he knew it would only hurt her even more.

"Gabriella," Troy said softly, coming up to her and taking one of her hands. "It doesn't matter what's on this paper, alright? There's nothing you need to worry about. Now, let's just sit down and talk about our relationship like you wanted to. I really think we need to, don't you?"

She nodded and gave him a hug, and he thought she'd let it go. But while her arms were around him she stole the sheet of paper from his grasp and scanned the list.

"No!" The boys shouted in unison, but it was too late.

"What is this?" She asked quietly, and neither of them had an answer.

"Troy, what is this?"

Chad patted his friend on the back and left the computer lab, leaving the couple alone in the brutally uncomfortable silence.

"Uh... please just remember how much I love you." He started over to her as she read the list aloud.

"Self-conscious... really touchy... nothing in common?" Gabriella repeated, her eyes rising to meet his. "Troy... you wrote this?"

"No... well I did, but I-"

"Hate how she's changed... regret having sex... never knows what she wants?" Her eyes were glossy now and she lowered the paper, glancing up at him and waiting for an explanation.

"Gabriella..."

"Why would you write this?"

"You don't understand... I was mad, and I just... did something stupid."

"And why are there more cons than pros?" She asked him softly. "Is this how you really feel? Is this how you really see me?"

"No, I was just being an idiot, and I-"

"I just wanted to come to talk to you about us. But I don't think we need to talk anymore."

"I think we do."

She laughed bitterly. "There's nothing left to say. You've said it all."

Handing him the list, Gabriella walked past him and out the door of the computer lab, emerging slowly into the library. Troy followed persistently.

"Gabriella wait! Just give me another chance, please. I'm so sorry."

"No."

He stopped in his tracks. "No?"

She whirled around. "That's what I said. You don't know how much you just hurt me, Troy."

"Yes I do-"

"No you don't!" Gabriella yelled at him, losing her patience. A few librarians glanced up at her. "You don't know what it feels like, okay? How do you think it feels to know that the worst things you think about yourself are also being thought by the one person you trust the most? And this person not only thinks these things, but puts them down on paper for record. It's not the warmest feeling, alright?"

"I figured that, okay? And I told you that I was sorry. Please forgive me! I would forgive you if things were the other way around. If you made a list, I'd forgive you in a heartbeat." Troy tried desperately.

Gabriella glanced at him, her eyes showing no pity. "But Troy, I would never have made a list."

The bell rang, and she left him standing there, soaking in the pity of knowing that Gabriella was no longer his girlfriend.


	7. Lazy Bones

**Thanks for your reviews! I'm really glad that people are beginning to see that this story is different from the other 'Gabriella's pregnant' stories. Yes, Troy and Gabriella did really break up, for the record. I got a lot of reviews asking that. But honestly, wouldn't you break up with your boyfriend if he made a pros and cons list about you? Yeah, that's what I thought. Enjoy this one, and if you're real good, I'll update when I get back from my dance competition this weekend, okay?**

**Inspire me.**

**I own absolutely nothing. Do I really have to keep stating that?**

**This chapter title comes from 'Lazy Bones' by Thicke. Junior Competition Team's hip-hop dance.**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Lazy Bones

Gabriella Montez had to admit that throughout this entire Christmas vacation, she'd been totally lazy.

Now diet and exercise were the essential parts of maintaining her health throughout this pregnancy. And she was keeping up with the diet part quiet well; she was avoiding the foods that were high in vitamin A, while eating a lot of foods with iron and folic acid, and she was drinking her eight to ten glasses of water a day (and losing it very fast, but that needn't be mentioned). She of course was continuing with her amniotic fluid injections, still scared for the life of her child. But exercise hadn't been going so well.

Most of her vacation was spent lying around on the couch or in her bed in her pajamas, watching as her aunts and uncles and cousins all visited with her mother and almost completely ignored her. They did of course greet her with the usual hug and kiss, but were shocked to find her pregnant, as everyone was these days. One of her much younger cousins asked her mother why Gabriella was pregnant when she was still a kid. Her aunt, she thought, was very mature with her answer, "Sometimes people make mistakes, dear."

If only her mother could see it that way.

Christmas was completely uneventful for her as well. She spent Christmas complaining about her bulging stomach and swelling ankles- to no one in particular, as no one would listen anyway. Her mother had wrapped all of Gabriella's childhood items- the crib, the changing table, toys and clothes- in Christmas wrap and given them to her as gifts. "For the new baby," she'd said without any emotion. Gabriella thanked her, but didn't tell her that she didn't know the baby was a girl yet. If it was a boy, none of the clothes she'd gotten would matter.

But the real reason for her lying around was not because of her pregnancy. No, she was long over that. It was really about Troy.

He had truly hurt her by making that list. Who would do such a thing anyhow? When you're mad at your significant other, the mature thing to do was to talk about it with them. After all, chances are they're feeling the same tension between the both of you, and talking about it would help. It may even solve the problem. And now all of those days she'd spent wishing Troy was out of the picture so she could just hear herself think were being completely contradicted. She didn't _want_ to go through this alone. She absolutely _needed_ him.

But he lost his chance.

It was December twenty-seventh, and Gabriella's mother was out and about, showing her family the sights and signature places Albuquerque was famous for. And of course, she was left at home. Gabriella was stretched out on her leather upholstered couch, a blanket resting from her belly down to her sock-clad feet, watching _A Baby Story_ on TLC. She truly found it fascinating, and was so awestruck by this family that she didn't even hear her doorbell ring. This woman and her husband had tried for years for a child and were unsuccessful, but after trying a method of invitro, they were having a set of triplets. The doorbell rang a few more times before snapping her out of her reverie and she jumped up to get it.

Taylor, Chad and Kelsi were standing at her door.

Taylor was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a deep purple sweater, her white pea coat open slightly revealing her outfit. Her hair was curled and her makeup was done lightly, framing her gorgeous features. Kelsi was wearing a pair of jeans as well, her grey winter coat zipped tightly shut, not enabling Gabriella to see her full outfit, and Chad was wearing his typical outfit- jeans, a screened tee, and a zip-up sweatshirt. They all looked nice, as if they were going out somewhere fun.

Gabriella looked horrible.

She was dressed in grey sweatpants that were slightly baggy for comfort and rode low on her hips. A pink t-shirt from the breast cancer walk she'd participated in earlier in the fall was atop her torso, her stomach protruding from it and wrinkled from her lying around. Her hair was matted and hanging loosely around her face, her makeup smudged from non-removal and sleeping, and her eyes still red from crying. In a word, she looked terrible, and didn't expect the visitors she was facing.

"Um... h-hi guys. What're you doing here?"

"Checking up on you," Taylor answered and gathered her best friend in a hug. "When we're not in school, we don't know how you're doing."

"Well I'm not doing any better than when you last saw me," She admitted truthfully, letting her friends in and retreating to her couch again.

"We want to change that." Kelsi put in. "We brought presents!"

Gabriella smiled. "You did?"

"Of course. It's Christmas season, isn't it?"

Kelsi reached into the tote bag they'd brought along and pulled out two gifts, one large and one small, wrapped in green wrapping paper garnished with candy canes. "Open the big one first. The smaller one goes with it."

Gabriella detangled the box from the paper and squealed. "This is so cute!! I love the Snuggly carriers! Thanks so much Kels!"

"You're welcome! See, now you can carry your baby anywhere with you. And this goes with it," She handed her the other gift.

"Aww, a matching diaper bag! I love you Kelsi." Gabriella grinned, hugging her friend.

Kelsi laughed. "You're welcome, Gabriella."

"Mine next!" Taylor screeched giddily. "I kinda... went crazy when I went shopping with Kelsi."

"Taylor," Gabriella gasped when her best friend handed her five wrapped gifts. "I don't need all of this."

"Yes you do!! Come on, just open them."

The first thing she unwrapped was a large plank of wood, undecorated. She shot a curious glance at Taylor. "Um... what... what is this?"

"It's a personalized name palate. But... you don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, so I couldn't personalize it. I guess I should've given this to you after it was born... but still."

"No Taylor, it's the thought that counts," She laughed. "Thanks."

Gabriella proceeded to unwrap bath toys and towels, some maternity shirts, some more clothes and a few toys. She thanked her best friend with a huge hug and went back to lying on the couch.

Chad cleared his throat. "I just want to apologize."

"For what?"

"It was... my idea for Troy to make that list."

"What?" Gabriella asked flatly. Chad winced.

"It's... well, it was my way of getting rid of anger. I do it all the time and... it seemed to be working for him. Until-"

"Until I walked in and caught him, right?"

"Basically." He stated simply. She frowned. "I'm really sorry, Gabriella. It was... stupid."

"Yeah," She agreed. "It was."

"Anyway," He tried changing the subject. "I brought you a present."

"Chad, don't give her that stupid thing." Taylor chided.

"No Tay, I got her something else." Chad reassured his girlfriend. "Here you go."

Inside the neatly wrapped package was a set of three onesies, and each of them were personalized, like Chad's shirts always were. The first read, 'My parents love me.' The second, 'Not an accident; an unplanned miracle.' And the third read, 'Uncle Chad is bound to get me in trouble.' Gabriella laughed.

"This is the sweetest thing ever, Chad."

"I got them done at the same place I get most of my shirts. Do you like them?" He asked cautiously.

"I love them," She assured him, standing and giving him a hug. "Thank you so much."

"Alright lazy bones," Taylor addressed her friend, grabbing her hand and beginning to pull her towards the stairs. "Let's go out. Kels and Chad and I are going to lunch. Please come."

"Taylor, I don't want to."

Taylor paused midway. "Wait, what?"

"I don't want to go out. I just don't feel... like I can."

"But Gabriella," Kelsi protested. "We don't want to leave you sad and alone here."

She smiled sadly. "It's okay, really. I'll get over it eventually. Thanks anyway, guys."

Her friends poured out of her house, calling their goodbyes. She thanked them all again for the gifts and they approached their car. Taylor turned around once more.

"Anything you need, and I mean absolutely anything, give me a call, okay?"

"Would you come to my doctor's appointment with me tomorrow?"

Taylor smiled. "Of course."

* * *

They were back again at the clinic, Gabriella lying upon the examining table while Taylor sat uncomfortably in a chair next to her. _Troy should be here_, Gabriella began to think, but then quickly shook that out of her head. Kathy was washing her hands, then moved to set up the ultrasound wave machine. She grinned back at Gabriella and received a small smile in return, sending off the impression that something was wrong.

"Gabriella hun, are you alright? Where's Troy?"

"Um, I'm fine. And Troy's... he won't be here for awhile. We had a huge fight and... I don't know. It just ended badly."

"I'm sorry." She offered sympathetically. "This must be your friend then? Hi, dear, I'm Doctor Kathy Stewart. It's nice to meet you."

"Taylor McKessie. Nice to meet you too."

"So how have the amniotic shots been going for you? No redness, swelling, itchiness at injection site?"

"No. It's been going well."

"Good," Kathy smiled. "Well, you're about twenty-one weeks in. A little over halfway there!"

Gabriella sighed in relief. "Good. And the horrible parts are over, right?"

"Well, the morning sickness, fatigue, and other symptoms you felt at the beginning should be over by now. But you've got others to look forward to as you get farther along. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it though, okay?"

"Thanks."

"Alright, I want to do an amniocentesis to check your fluid levels, then we'll get on with the normal appointment."

Kathy injected a long needle into Gabriella's just showing stomach, and released the lever, extracting a thin vial of fluid. Running a few pH test strips through it, it showed to be normal, but just to make sure, she informed Gabriella she was going to run it to the lab very quick. About ten minutes later, she came back, the same puzzled look on her face from when she first told Gabriella and Troy about the complication.

"I don't get it," She stated. "Your fluid levels are still too low. Alright, just continue on with the injections, okay?"

Gabriella nodded.

"Hmm... I'm curious to see if this has caused any other problems." Kathy said to no one in particular, though both Gabriella and Taylor were now on the edge of their seats. "Let's get you into this ultrasound."

"Your child's heart is growing stronger about this point, and white blood cells are forming and growing," She continued, trying to keep Gabriella's mind off of further complications. "Your immunities are being passed to your baby, and the five major senses are developing as well. Hmm... what else... oh! The baby might startle from loud sounds, because he or she can hear things outside the womb by this point."

"It can?" Gabriella asked in shock.

"Yes it can. It can also respond to light. If you were to drag a flashlight across your stomach, he or she could follow it."

"That's so cool!" Taylor squealed. "Can we try that when we go home?"

Gabriella laughed. "Sure."

"Oh, and you know, it's too bad Troy isn't here because we know by this point whether your baby is a boy or a girl."

Her eyes widened. "You do?"

Kathy smiled. "Yes. Would you like me to find out?"

"Well I don't know if I want to know yet..."

"That's perfectly fine," The doctor replied, lifting the ultrasound handle to Gabriella's stomach. "You can wait if you want to."

After a few moments, Kathy found the baby again, and was searching for any more complications. Unfortunately, she found a few.

"It's so beautiful," Taylor cooed.

Gabriella smiled but it slowly faded when she noticed the look on Kathy's face. "What's wrong now?"

"A case of Intrauterine Growth Restriction. When the fetus grows and develops, your uterus is supposed to grow with it. The uterus is supposed to grow one-thousand times larger by the end of a pregnancy. But... yours isn't growing. It's gotten bigger by about a half, and that's not enough. Your baby is developing normally, to some extent, but is already running out of room to grow. This is not good. Really not good..."

"What can I do about it?"

"There isn't anything you can do, Gabriella. I'm sorry. This condition will most likely lead to a premature labor."

Premature labor. Gabriella's heart sank.

"What's... the minimum age for survival?"

"Well, about thirty-one weeks. Anytime after that your child should be fine."

"Do you think I'll make it that far?"

Kathy smiled sadly. "I can't say. You might, but then again, you may not."

Taylor offered Gabriella her hand and she took it, squeezing it hard. "Is this going to lead to any more complications?"

"Most likely. In fact, I'd like to see you back this time next week, okay?"

"Of course."

Just as she and Taylor were about to leave the room, Kathy called out to Gabriella.

"Hun, if you want to know the sex, I've got it. I think you deserve some happiness."

She glanced at Taylor who nodded eagerly. "Okay, what is it?"

Kathy smiled. "It's a boy."

Gabriella grinned, feeling on top of the world.

But leaving the clinic that day, Gabriella wondered if her case of 'lazy bones' had caused this new complication in the first place...


	8. Almost Lover

**Dramatic chapter! Dramatic chapter!! Oh man, you're going to hate me after this, that's all I have to say. I'm gonna apologize to those of you who didn't want to know what gender Gabriella's baby was. Sorry. You could always pretend you didn't read that part? I just thought she needed some good news, okay? Anyways, I'm currently writing chapter twelve, almost done!! Yayy! And thank you to those of you who wished me a good luck this past weekend. We did absolutely amazing and got first place! Out of like 600 numbers or something, that's fantastic! So thank you! And now... ENJOY!  
**

**I own nothing. I am also not affiliated with Disney nor A Fine Frenzy. Don't sue me. I don't have a lawyer.**

**This chapter title comes from 'Almost Lover' by A Fine Frenzy. Senior Comp. Team's lyrical dance.**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Almost Lover

Troy Bolton hadn't been single since he met Gabriella.

And honestly, he didn't know what to do with himself.

There had been so many almost lovers before her though, so many potential girlfriends that he couldn't even remember them all. They wanted him for his looks and the popularity gained from being Troy Bolton's girlfriend. He wanted someone who wasn't obsessed with their looks, their popularity levels, and well, him. The truth was, he couldn't find anyone like that, and so each almost lover became a never lover, and he never looked back.

Until Gabriella.

He loved Gabriella, truly he did. And he cursed himself for ever taking Chad's advice on relationship matters. The pros and cons list was one of the dumbest mistakes of his life. He wasn't going to print it and she wasn't supposed to find it. He wanted to type out the pros and cons and then delete it from his memory, sure that he'd feel better. She was never meant to see it... and the last words she said to him were still burned in the front of his mind, branded into his skull. _Troy, I would have never made a list_. It's true; she wasn't the kind of person to badmouth anyone.

She certainly wouldn't write it down.

Troy spent his vacation moping around the house as well, trying his best to come up with a way to get back with her. He knew that she needed him as much as he needed her, especially throughout this stressful pregnancy. But he didn't know what to do. He came up with a bunch of different ways that might just be successful, but he over thought each one until they all had an unsuccessful ending. He was beginning to become hopeless, and no one was there to help him.

"Troy, you're miserable behavior is beyond ridiculous," The scolding voice of his mother rang out from the kitchen. She entered the living room, where he was sprawled out on the couch. "Make yourself useful and hang up those decorations, will you?"

He nodded and walked over towards the box labeled 'New Year's' in big letters. He and Gabriella were supposed to have a date tonight, it being the first of their two anniversaries, but since the breakup, that date was cancelled. He wondered if she was thinking about this just as much as he was.

"I want the garland on the mantle and the signs hung from the ceiling, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Don't be so down, Troy! Go make up with her if you're going to act like this."

"I can't do that Mom."

Anna set the bowl of ingredients for a dessert aside. "And just why not?"

"The breakup was pretty bad."

"Nonsense, I'm sure you can do something about it."

"I hurt her," Troy said gravely. "I really hurt her. And I promised myself I'd never do that."

Anna put an arm around her son's shoulders. "Well honey you have to do something. You can't just let it go on like this. And not just for you and Gabriella, but think of your child, Troy. Don't let it grow up without a father."

"Yeah but what can I do? What did Dad do in these kinds of situations?"

"Well your father and I fought a lot back before you were born. I think it's just the pregnancy hormones surging through her. And whenever I had an insane hormone surge, your father would just leave the house, drive around for a little while and then come back and we'd talk it over. Then everything was okay."

Troy contemplated this for a moment. "That's a good idea. But I don't know if she'll want to talk to me after what I did."

"Oh Troy," Anna laughed, standing up and making her way to the kitchen again. "You gave her a week. Gabriella's a very forgiving person and I bet that if you made your way over there now, she'd talk to you."

He began to get up before Anna stopped him. "But, help me with the decorations first."

* * *

Troy didn't end up going to see Gabriella after all.

After he finished hanging up the garland and the 'Happy New Year!' signs, he was instructed to set up the music and the set out the noisemakers, party hats, and other festive items. He then helped his mother prepare the rest of the food and snacks, and answered the door when his aunt, uncle, and cousins came in. They lived in Arizona, and came to visit the Bolton's every holiday and then every once in a while when they felt like it. They had two children, Connor, who was Troy's age, and Emily who was fifteen.

Connor and Troy were the best of friends.

For Troy, Connor was like the brother he never had. He and Connor were born within a week of each other, and had always been together to play and grow. He was like Troy's other half, and they had a special, unique bond between them. Connor felt like Troy was his brother as well, and since he only had a younger sister, Troy was exactly what he needed. Whenever the two were together, there was no separating them for hours.

"Man, your head is off in the clouds again?"

Troy snapped out of his trance, glancing at his cousin. "Yeah. I've got to stop that."

Connor shook his head, taking a sip of his soda. "This party is lame."

"They usually are," Troy agreed. "Especially when they're hosted by my parents."

The boys laughed in unison. "So where are your friends? Chad, Jason, Zeke... do you still talk to them?"

"Yeah we're still tight. They should be here later. I don't know."

"How's the girlfriend?"

Troy sighed. "Pregnant."

Connor almost choked on his soda. "Pregnant? Seriously? Man. That sucks."

"Yeah it does. Especially since we just broke up, like last week."

"You haven't tried anything to get back with her?"

He looked away guiltily. "No."

"Then what the hell are you doing here at this lame-ass party?" Connor laughed. "Go out there and do it already!!"

Troy nodded with a grin, but his grin faded when he heard a rumble of thunder from above. Chad, Zeke, and Jason entered the house, soaking wet from the pouring rain outside.

"Man it is really bad out there," Jason complained, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes. "Anybody leaving this house is going to want to wait until the storm's over."

Troy glared at him. "How bad could it possibly be Jason?"

Jason held up his hands in defense. "Hey, I didn't drive here. Ask Zeke."

"It's bad," Was all Zeke could say. "Really bad."

"It was kinda scary, you know, like it's this big torrential downpour," Chad added. "What a way to ring in the New Year. Happy New Year everybody!"

Troy grabbed a sweatshirt from the closet by the front door, yanking his keys off of the neatly kept hook by the stairs and running out into the black of the night. He threw himself inside the ice cold car, immediately turning on and cranking up the heat and windshield wipers. Stuffing his key into the ignition, he brought the car to life and adjusted his mirrors. Pulling out of the driveway, he raced off into the night, anger and remorse filling his veins.

"What the hell is he doing?" Chad watched from the window. "Is he crazy?"

Connor raced to find Jack Bolton, and when he did his sentence came in an intense rush. "Troywentoutinthiscrazystormandhe'sgonnahaveanaccidentorsomething!!"

Jack stared at him in confusion. "Wait, what? Slow down, son."

He drew in a breath. "Troy went out in this storm and he'll end up having an accident or something! We've gotta do something!"

Jack put down his glass of wine and hurried out to his own truck, Connor right beside him. "Connor, I don't think you should-"

"No Uncle Jack, I have to. I was the one who told him to go out in the first place. This is my fault."

"It's not your fault. Just go back inside and-"

"I'm not going back. You can say what you want but I want to find him."

Jack nodded and the two hopped into the car, racing off into the night on a mad search to find Troy.

* * *

Troy was speeding, although he wasn't aware of it, through the streets of Albuquerque, dying to get to Gabriella's house to apologize profusely and finally end this dispute. It _was_ a really bad storm; Zeke and Jason hadn't lied when they said so. He could barely see what was happening before his eyes, and he couldn't see past three feet in front of him. He came to a skidding stop at the corner of one of the streets near East High, and looked around, trying to figure out which way he was going.

Meanwhile, Jack and Connor had come to the exact same stop point, but on the opposite side of Troy. Neither one of them knew where Gabriella lived, and were just following directions from Anna a few moments earlier. But the paper she'd written it on had gotten smudged from the rain droplets, and they couldn't make out the next direction. Was it left? Right? Turn? Don't turn? They couldn't tell, but decided it was best to go straight... wasn't it?

Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Troy had decided to go straight too, and veered off course just slightly. But just that slight movement made all the difference. Suddenly, in the sheet of opaque darkness, there were two bright gleaming lights that nearly blinded him when he glanced over the steering wheel. It was another car. The front ends of both of the cars met in a screeching, screaming crash, the most ear-piercing sound you could ever hear. Both windshields shattered and fell into the car, and Troy was propelled from the front seat onto the wet pavement next to the crash scene.

He was unconscious. And for a while, he felt nothing.

* * *

The rain had stopped, but there was still a hazy, muggy feeling to the air. Sirens from police cars and a few ambulances filled the once silence of the night. Paramedics raced around, strapping one to a stretcher and hoisting it into the ambulance, slamming the door shut and banging on it, a signal that it could leave. It drove away in the misty darkness, leaving two other bodies at the scene. One was being attended to, but the other was still.

Then suddenly it convulsed.

"Give him room! Let him breathe!"

Troy awoke from his unconscious state, coughing and sputtering and choking on nothing. He felt as though he couldn't breathe and panic flashed throughout his face.

"Oxygen mask! We need an oxygen mask!"

A clear mask was placed over his nose and mouth, through which oxygen flowed freely. Troy glanced at the paramedic that was attending to him. She was young, about twenty-eight, twenty-nine or so, and had long brown hair tied into a braid. Her pretty green eyes were checking him all over to see any particular damage, and then they widened.

"We need a stretcher! He's hurt pretty badly!"

She then turned to him and smiled. "Hello Troy. You're going to be okay. That was some accident."

Troy tried to nod but found that it was too painful.

"Oh don't do that. Don't move. Listen to me," She began as three other paramedics loaded him onto the stretcher and strapped him in. "I'm going to ask you some questions, okay? They'll be simple yes or no questions, and if it's a yes, I want you to lift your right hand. If it's no, lift your left hand, okay?"

Troy lifted his right hand. She grinned.

"Do you know what happened?"

His left hand rose.

"We'll tell you dear, but now's not the time." They loaded him into the ambulance and began to zoom away towards the hospital. She sat next to him the whole ride. "Do you know your name?"

Troy lifted his right hand. Yes, he knew his name, but how did she?

"Good, good. Are you seventeen?"

His right hand rose.

"Excellent. Can you talk? Have you tried?"

His left hand rose and he opened his mouth. "What... what... happened?" He struggled, his voice raspy and haggard.

"Your car skidded into the wrong lane and crashed into the other car crossing the street."

"Are... the other... people... okay?"

"One is going to be just fine, like you. The other is in critical condition."

Troy thought a moment, and realized he knew practically everyone. Curiously, he asked, "Who was it?"

The paramedic smiled sadly. "I don't want to worry you, hun. It's best if I don't tell."

Pain began to crawl through every part of his body, but he was determined to know who was hit. "How do you... know who it... was?"

"There was identification in the man's jacket, and in yours too," She added. "We called the family and had them come down to identify the people as well."

"Please tell me..." He begged desperately. "Who it was."

She sighed, not wanting to cause him anymore pain by keeping him in suspense. "Your father and cousin."

Troy closed his eyes, processing what she'd just told him. His father and cousin. Dad and best friend. Jack and Connor. Unbelievable. At first he was in denial, and didn't think she was serious. It was ridiculous to think that, wasn't it? And then he remembered what she said earlier: _One is going to be fine, like you. The other is in critical condition._ Which one was which? Was it possible that he could lose a cousin... or a father? Throughout this entire thought process, as he faded in and out of consciousness, the radio had been on. And the song the driver was listening to did not soothe Troy's thoughts.

"_Goodbye, my almost lover. Goodbye, my hopeless dream. I'm trying not to think about you. Can't you just let me be? So long, my luckless romance. My back is turned on you. Should've known you would bring me heartache... almost lovers always do..._"


	9. Burning Love

**Hola! I'm baaaack! Chapter nine is on its way. OKAY YOU BRATS! Troy and Gabriella get back together in this chapter, are you happy? Lol. And yes, _Almost Lover_ is an amazing song. Download it. ... Now. Loving the reviews so keep 'em coming!! I'm halfway through chapter thirteen right now, so at this rate this story should be over by next week. Hurray! Well, not really...**

**And I am going to update "Deep" this weekend too. I'm such a bad updater for that story.**

**I own... (Get ready, it's a long list!) NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING ANNNNDDD NOTHING! Ta da!**

**This chapter title comes from 'Burning Love' by Wynonna Judd (Originally by Elvis Presley). Mini Comp. Team's jazz dance.**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Burning Love

A burning white light shined through the hospital room of Troy Bolton.

His eyes opened slowly, then squeezed shut again when bright blue mixed with blinding white. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious for, but figured it was a long time since waking up to that was so intense. He tried to move and found out he could not. Opening his eyes again, but not looking at the window, he noticed he was hooked up to three different machines and an I.V. His arms were bruised and cut, as he imagined his face to be. There were four balloons and a few other 'Get Well' gifts and he smiled, doing so painlessly. _I must be on some kind of painkiller_.

The door opened and a nurse came in, dressed in coral pink scrub pants and a floral top. She smiled at him, obviously surprised and glad to see that he was finally awake. Her nametag read _Laura_, which seemed appropriate since it was a young name and she seemed young. He smiled back and she adjusted one of the machines and turned another one of them off. Then she fluffed his pillows, which he laughed at slightly, and removed the ventilator from his chest.

"You can breathe, right?"

"Yes," He answered groggily, and almost didn't recognize his own voice.

"How do you feel?"

"Alright, I guess. How long was I out for?"

"Three days, Troy."

"Was I in a coma?"

Laura laughed. "No dear. Just out of it. You came in here early Monday morning and it's Thursday. They patched you up and stopped the internal bleeding. You should be released on Saturday."

"Great. So it's Thursday, huh? January...?"

"Third," She filled in for him. "Oh and by the way, you've got a visitor honey. This one's been coming in every day for you."

Troy glanced towards the doorway as Laura left it, hearing her voice tell the visitor she could enter. He figured it would be his mother. Of course she'd want to see him the moment he woke up, and would want to be here every minute in hopes he'd awaken. But it wasn't his mother who walked through the doorway.

In fact, he hadn't expected this visitor at all.

The second she laid eyes on him she promptly burst into tears. She pulled a chair up to the edge of his bed and took one of her hands in his, gripping it tightly as she looked him in the eye. "Troy... I'm so sorry Troy... I'm so sorry."

A surge of burning love flashed through his face. He drew in a breath and exhaled. "Gabriella..."

"If it wasn't for me, none of this would've happened," She went on. "You wouldn't have driven out into that storm... and you'd be okay."

"What are you talking about?" He joked. "I'm fine."

Gabriella laughed through her tears and tried frantically to wipe them away. "You sure look fine."

Troy smiled tiredly. "In all seriousness, this is not your fault. It's mine. If I hadn't made that stupid list, we would've have broken up and I wouldn't have had to go out in that storm."

She thought this through. "You're right."

"Look Gabriella... I'm really sor-"

"Oh Troy, I know. It's okay. Really. Chad told me everything so don't beat yourself up, okay?" She squeezed his hand. "It's alright."

He reached his free hand over to her and it came to rest upon her stomach. "How's the baby?"

She grinned. "It's a boy."

"It is?" Troy asked, knowing somewhere in his heart he hadn't been there when she found out. "I thought you wanted to save it for a surprise."

"Well, after Kathy told us about the new complications, she thought I deserved some good news."

"New complications?" He questioned. "There's more?"

She nodded sadly. "I've got Intrauterine Growth Restriction. It means my uterus isn't growing properly and it'll lead to premature labor and other complications. Plus, there still isn't enough amniotic fluid, so... I have to keep giving the injections. It's so complicated."

Troy sighed. "Wow. I'm sorry. I wish I was there with you."

Gabriella glanced at him. "I wish you were too."

There was a short silence between them. The clock on the wall behind his bed ticked slowly, counting down the passing minutes between them. He raised his eyes to meet hers.

"I love you Gabriella."

She smiled warmly, detangling her hand from his to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. "I know you do. I love you too."

"Hey, why aren't you in school?"

She flushed with crimson. "I've been skipping the first three periods everyday to come see you."

"Gabriella..."

"My teachers don't mind, though. I told them the real reason."

"Only you would tell your teachers why you're skipping."

"Shut up."

He grinned, loving having her back with him. His grin slowly faded, however, when he was reminded of school. School. Basketball. Dad. Connor. "Gabriella? Do you... Do you know anything about my Dad or Connor?"

Her smile disappeared. "Oh Troy..."

"What? They wouldn't tell me anything on the way in here," Troy begged. "Please. Just tell me."

"Your Dad's fine, Troy. He was perfectly fine a few days ago and they let him go home. He's supposed to even go back to work next week. You know, he and your Mom should be coming in here soon to visit. They're always here right after me. I wonder-"

"Gabriella," He interrupted. "What about Connor?"

Her eyes dropped to her hands. Her head lowered and she drew in a deep breath. Troy knew what she was going to say was not going to be easy.

"Connor... died Tuesday morning."

Troy's heart sank. "No..."

"I'm so sorry."

"No no no no..." He repeated, his face blank. "Please tell me you're kidding. Please! You're lying..."

Gabriella's heart broke for him. "I'm not."

She knew how tough this was going to be for him. He and Connor were closer than any set of cousins she'd ever met before and losing him was probably the hardest thing that's happened to him. Especially while he was in this state. His face was gradually losing its pallor, receding to a deathly pale color and his breathing was slowing to a more erratic tone. And the weirdest thing? His eyes were... glistening. Gabriella had never seen him cry before, but there was a first for everything. And it looked like she was going to see him break down very soon.

"It's my fault," Troy stated, his voice low. "Everything's my fault."

"No Troy, it's not your fault. Don't think that it is."

"It is my fault Gabriella!" He burst out angrily. "If I didn't make that list, I wouldn't have had to go after you in that storm and he wouldn't have followed me!"

"You can't blame yourself," She said calmly, noticing the flicker of emotion pass his face.

"Yes I can... if it weren't for me, he wouldn't have died! It's my fault he's dead!" Troy choked out before tears spilled over his eyelids. "I didn't mean to... I didn't want to make him come after me."

Gabriella wrapped her arms around him and held him tight against her chest, his tears soaking through her shirt as he clung to her for dear life. She said nothing; just held him in place, knowing that he didn't need chastisement and he didn't need comfort. All he needed was to cry. He just needed to let his feelings out. And she was going to be right there with him as he did so. Troy closed his eyes, the tears spilling out slowing, as he repeated,

"It's my fault... It's all my fault..."

* * *

"How's Troy holding up?"

Anna Bolton smiled at the girl's concern. Her son certainly did have a wonderful girlfriend. Each day since he'd arrived home on Saturday, she came to the house and spent time with him, trying to get him to stop blaming himself for his cousin's death. Each time, she felt, was a little bit more successful. Eventually, the old Troy Bolton would be back to normal. They were now at the funeral reception, and Troy was no where to be found. Handing her a glass of ice water, Gabriella took it and thanked her, and Anna sighed, taking a sip of her own.

"He's... hanging in there. He's pretty much fully recovered from the accident, but I'm not sure if he'll ever heal from this death."

"Probably not," Gabriella agreed. "Where is he?"

"I think he's in the lobby, but he may have gone outside. He just can't handle it."

"I'll go check on him.

Anna grinned. "You're going to be a great mother, Gabriella."

She offered her a smile in return. "Thanks."

Heading out the door, she bumped into Chad who wore a slightly confused look on his face.

"Are you looking for Troy?"

"Yeah, is he outside?"

"Uh-huh," He nodded, his bushy hair bouncing. "But I don't know if he really wants to talk to anyone right now. He yelled at me."

"Aww, poor baby," She laughed slightly. "He'll talk to me."

He smirked. "He probably will."

Walking past him, she pushed the door to the funeral home open forcefully and stepped out into the mild air. It was something she'd always loved about Albuquerque; in January it was always about fifty or sixty degrees. Glancing to her right, she noticed a few cars pulling out of the parking lot and a few other people stood nearby, hugging, crying, paying their respects and offering condolences. No Troy. She looked to the left and noticed him, a few feet from the doorway, sitting upon a bench, his head lowered and arms resting on his legs. He was hunched over, staring at the ground and adjusting the collar of his suit nervously. Her heart almost broke again as she made her way over to him.

"Troy..."

He sat up stiffly. "Hi."

"Chad said you didn't want to talk to anybody."

"I'll always talk to you."

She nearly melted, sitting beside him gently. "He said you yelled at him."

"He thinks he knows how I'm feeling. Newsflash: he's never killed a cousin."

Gabriella opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off. "I know you say that it's not my fault and that I have to stop blaming myself... but how can I? How can I let it go? How can I stop feeling horrible like this?"

She swallowed hard, unprepared for questions like these.

Troy sighed. "It just hurts, Gabriella."

"Oh I know it does, Troy. And it's going to hurt for a while. But blaming yourself is only going to make you feel worse."

And then, totally unexpected to Gabriella, he leaned in and kissed her in a deep, meaningful embrace, getting out all of his anger, his hurt, and his sadness into the kiss. She knew he needed time to get over the blame, but that eventually he would be back to normal. She didn't need to reassure him; she'd done that enough times already and it hadn't gotten her anywhere anyway. She let him take what he seemed to need desperately, and knew that if he needed anything more in the world, he needed her.

Her burning love was keeping him going.


	10. Barracuda

**Yeah so guys, I realize that last chapter was sad and dramatic. I apologize, really. And I also don't have much energy for an author's note because I'm creatively lacking. So... sorry again. Thank you for reading and reviewing and enjoy chapter ten... four more chapters to go! :(  
**

**I own absolutely nothing. Again...**

**This chapter title comes from 'Barracuda' by Heart (Cover by Fergie). Junior Comp. Team's tap dance... that I'm also in even though I'm not a junior.**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Barracuda

It was February first, a Friday, and everybody was extremely excited for the weekend. The past week had been chock full of midterms and important exams vital to graduation. Students had buckled down and studied like crazy for the past two weeks and now, everything was over. All of the exams were sent into the state grading system and students were already planning parties for the successful completion of their horribly difficult tests.

Except Gabriella wasn't feeling up to partying, and it wasn't because she couldn't go.

Something had felt slightly off during her week. There was a lot of pressure on her lower abdomen. It didn't hurt so she knew they weren't contractions, but she couldn't tell what it was. It was an intense strain on her body while she was trying to complete her tests, and she didn't know exactly what was going on. It was somewhat frightening to not know what was happening in her own body. Kathy had told her that her case of Intrauterine Growth Restriction would lead to an early labor, but Gabriella was hoping and praying that she'd make it past the thirty-one week deadline.

Unfortunately, she was only in week twenty-five, and some feeling deep down was telling her it was already happening.

"... and I got the square root of negative two plus five and three quarters. What about you?"

Gabriella snapped back to reality. "What?"

Taylor laughed. "What did you get for number thirty-seven on the Calculus midterm?"

"God Taylor, I don't remember. It was a really hard test."

"But we just took it last period!"

Gabriella was about to reply when she felt a sharp jolt through her stomach. It wasn't painful, just slightly unusual. She twitched. "Oh my god..."

"Are you okay?"

She twitched again. "I don't know."

"What's happening?"

"I'm not sure," Gabriella answered, her stomach pulsating again. "But I don't think it's a good thing."

"Do you think you're having contractions?" Taylor asked, her expression showing her shock and confusion.

"I don't think so... they don't hurt."

"Oh that's good. Well we're just going to lunch now; maybe the walk will alleviate it?"

"Yeah, they're actually starting to go away."

"Good."

Less than a minute later, her torso began trembling again, even harder than before. "This is starting to freak me out."

"Me too," Taylor nodded. "Do you want to get out of here? Go to Doctor Stewart's, or something?"

Gabriella slid down a locker, coming to a crashing halt on the ground. People passed her, wide-eyed, and she couldn't blame them. It looked as though she was having convulsions. Her torso was palpitating and fluttering uncontrollably. "Yeah... but I don't... think I can... move."

Taylor gulped. "Oh god..."

* * *

A large crowd of people were swarming the hallway outside the cafeteria, causing a huge commotion amongst students. Even though the bell rang and some students ran frantically to their next period class, most of the crowd remained circled around the action in the center. It was too crowded to see what was going on if you just approached to hordes of people, but once you got close enough you could see clearly what was going on- even if you knew nothing of the subject at hand.

Chad, Troy and Jason were exiting their American Literature class, complaining of the terrible exam they'd completed just moments before. Chad decided he'd practically failed the thematic essay; there was no way he could connect metaphors between _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer _and_ Great Expectations_. Jason had forgotten all of the definitions of the literary elements; he was confusing characterization with personification, theme with setting, and conflict with values. Troy laughed at both of them, claiming the only thing that was confusing was the word usage part; they're, there, their, to, two, too, etc. The three came to a skidding halt at the brink of the crowd.

"What's going on?" Jason asked the other two, who shrugged.

Troy tapped the shoulder of a guy in front of him, whose eyes widened and screamed out, "Sharpay! He's here!!"

"I'm here?"

"You're here!" Sharpay screeched.

"Who's here?" Jason questioned densely.

"Troy's here," She informed him with a roll of her eyes. "Gabriella's in labor!!"

"That's impossible!" Troy exclaimed. "She can't be in labor. She's not due until May!"

"Dude, doesn't she have that weird uterus thing?" Chad slapped his arm. Troy's eyes grew wide.

"Shit!"

Troy clawed his way to the center of the circle, prying people apart carelessly. When the crowd dispersed, he found exactly what he was looking for, but when he cast his gaze on her, it seemed to frighten him. Gabriella was still leaned up against the locker, the muscles in her stomach expanding and contracting causing her entire body to shudder out of control. Taylor was beside her, gripping her hand for dear life and yelling at the students to go away and leave them alone. When Gabriella noticed Troy out of the corner of her eye, her head struck towards him and she smiled, though it was strained and he could tell it was painful. He rushed to her side.

"Hi. What's happening?"

"What does it look like?" She breathed out.

"Right now, it just looks like you're having convulsions."

Even though she smiled, she said to him, "Shut up, Troy. I need to go see Kathy."

"Don't you think we should go to the hospital?" He suggested, lifting her up with Taylor's help. "I mean, if you're in labor-"

"Please, I'm not in labor," Gabriella waved it off. "Sharpay doesn't know what she's talking about."

"These aren't contractions?" Troy asked as she shook again.

"No. That's why I need to see Kathy. I don't know what's going on."

"Oh..."

"Contractions don't cause your entire body to convulse out of control, Troy," Gabriella informed him as they approached the front door to the school, but were stopped by two aides.

"Excuse me, where do you three think you're going?"

Troy sighed. "We need to go to-"

The monitor shook her head. "You can't leave school in the middle of the day unless you have a written excuse!"

"Is there a problem here?" Jack Bolton's voice came from the main office. Gabriella twitched again.

"Dad, Gabriella really needs to go to the doctor's. Like... now. Something's wrong."

His eyes darkened in concern. "Go."

The three of them smiled. "Thanks!"

They headed out to Troy's car while the monitors stared at Jack, wondering where the special treatment came from.

"I'll deal with it later."

* * *

"I think they're just Braxton-Hicks, honey."

Gabriella was sitting in a chair in Kathy Stewart's office again, Troy beside her gripping her hand. She was still pulsating every once in awhile, though not quite as often as before. "Are you sure?"

Kathy laughed. "Not really. That's why I want to run a few tests and see what's going on. I think... well, I don't know."

"What're Braxton-Hicks?" Troy asked

"It's the tightening and relaxing of the muscles in the uterus, much like real contractions except these are quick and painless. They don't cause you to have these muscle spasms though. That's why I want to test her and see what's up."

"Good... I don't even know what's going on," Gabriella said, her voice shaking.

"Do you know when these tremors come along?" Kathy asked, hooking her up to the ultrasound machine once again.

"No, they're pretty irregular. Do I have to lie down?"

"No, this should be fine." After running the handle over her stomach for a few minutes, Kathy found the answer to the problem. "Well I don't have to run any tests now. Remember how I told you Intrauterine Growth Restriction causes premature birth?"

She nodded feebly.

"Well, your son doesn't have any room in your uterus since it stopped growing, so he's showing signs of fetal distress. Picture... a barracuda in a home fish tank. That's basically what's happening here."

"That can't be good." Troy commented, squeezing Gabriella's hand. She didn't squeeze back.

Kathy turned off her machine and stood up. "Let's get you to the hospital."

* * *

"Did you call everyone?" Gabriella asked Troy from the hospital bed as he came up beside her.

"Yeah. Your mom and my parents should be here soon," He informed her, gripping her hand again. "Chad and Taylor said they'll come after school's out too. They're bringing the others."

She nodded, glancing at the I.V. bag that was slowly drip-dropping fluid into her skin. He stroked her cheek with his free hand. "How're you doing?"

"Fine. My contractions are like... twenty-five minutes apart. I'll be here until May at this point."

"Did they induce you?"

"They had to. If they didn't, labor wouldn't progress."

There was a short awkward silence between them before Gabriella sighed.

"Troy, why is this happening to me?"

He didn't respond.

"I took care of myself. I took the prenatal vitamins. I followed the diet restrictions. I didn't smoke, I didn't drink, and still I have all of these complications. Why me, Troy? Why?"

Troy leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "I don't know, Gabriella. Sometimes these things happen even to the people who take care of themselves."

"But why is he being born so early? I still have three months left!" She whined. "Why is this happening to me?"

He was about to open his mouth to respond when the Fetal Heart Monitor went off, buzzing, whirring and screaming into the quiet of the room. Troy glanced at Gabriella, whose face was pale, and ran to the door, shouting for a nurse to come. Kathy and a few other doctors were standing by, and rushed into the room at the sharp commands. They hurried over to the heart monitor while Kathy calmed and reassured the frightened couple, who looked as if they'd just seen a ghost.

"Doctor Stewart," A young male nurse called out. "This doesn't look right."

Kathy glanced over his shoulder at the readings from the fetal monitor. "No it does not. Alright, you know what to do. Get one of the labor and delivery operating rooms ready. We'll be down soon."

The other nurses left hurriedly out the door. Kathy turned to them, a brave smile on her face. "Gabriella, I'm afraid we're going to have to perform an emergency cesarean section."

"You are?" She asked, her voice low.

"We have to. It's the only choice if this child has any hope of living." Lifting up the phone, she paged the anesthesiologist. "We'll give you an epidural and then it's off to the L & D room!"

She sounded excited but Gabriella was shocked beyond belief. She was squeezing Troy's hand so hard it was beginning to turn purple. He was grimacing but didn't say anything, knowing comfort was what she needed in this time. The anesthesiologist shot the liquid into her spinal cord and then wheeled her down to the labor and delivery operating room. Once there, a curtain was set up just below her breasts, so neither her nor Troy could see the gruesome surgery.

"Scalpel?"

"Scalpel. Suction hose?"

"Suction hose. Make the incision three to five centimeters above the navel."

"She used amniotic injections. Find an injection site and cut there."

"Making the incision... scissors?"

"Scissors. How premature is the child?"

"About three months, slightly longer. Connect that suction hose to the machine over there... yup, that's the one."

"Better call the nursery and tell them. This one will need a NICU stay for a few months."

Troy tried not to listen to the doctors as they performed this surgery, and focused solely on trying to keep Gabriella calm. "You okay?"

She smiled faintly but said nothing.

"The incision's been made. Slicing the amniotic sac... now. Done."

"Detach the placenta from the-"

Suddenly, the heart monitor began beeping again, but this time it wasn't the Fetal Heart Doppler. This time it was the heart monitor attached to Gabriella.

"Reconnect her now! Now!"

All of a sudden, she couldn't breathe. She was gasping for air, but nothing was coming to her. Doctors swarmed the room, yanking Troy from Gabriella's grasp and shoving him out the door. She looked around for him but found he was gone from her sight, and just holding her head up caused intense dizziness. The room was swirling around, spinning out of control so fast she couldn't make out one single person. Her eyesight blurred, the blinding white hospital lights smearing all sights into one.

"Get the oxygen! Reynolds, hook her up to the new monitor there!"

"Quick! Get her hooked before she shuts down!"

"She's convulsing! Where's the needle?"

"Her heart rate's slowing down! Where the hell is Reynolds with that machine?"

"Got it, where's the damn needle?"

"Her chest isn't moving! Pump the oxygen in her now!"

"She didn't disconnect, the machine just died on her. We have to get the new one on!"

In a moment Kathy was by her head. "Stay with us Gabriella! Stay with us!"

Gabriella took one last look at her before her head hit the cold metal table.

"We're losing her! We're losing her!"

And then everything went black.


	11. Hyper Ballad

**Heeyyyy everybody! How about that last one, eh? Ha ha ha. Way to leave you on a cliffhanger, right? Oh I know. I had that idea from the very beginning, even before any of the chapters were written or even planned out. I was like, "WOO! Good idea coming on!" And ta-da! That's how it happened. I've finally finished the last chapter of this story (yay!) so the rest should be posted soon. Enjoy!  
**

**Nothing is owned by me.**

**This chapter title comes from 'Hyper Ballad' by Bjork. Senior Competition Team's jazz dance.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Hyper Ballad

Calmness.

This is what Gabriella Montez felt- a strange sense of peace and tranquility, like she was in the infamous Zen Gardens, meditating in a field of sweet lotus flowers. It was an eerie sensation, like she had left her body and was in some other world. Some dream-like state where a hyper ballad of emotions was playing out for her. A low, soothing tone was playing softly in the background; a short fit that sounded like a rain stick shaking every now and then accompanied it. She saw off in the corner of her world a gently sloped mountain, and slowly but surely floated towards it.

Before her was a set of stairs, carved deep into the mountain, and stepped onto it, the cold rock feeling like ice against the warm skin of her foot. She continued to climb the steps, one by one, and with each one, a different kind of feeling took over her. Anger, jealousy, happiness, fear, serenity, sadness, embarrassment, accomplishment, loss- each one filling her with all kinds of memories from the past, when she'd experienced each feeling. Moving to different cities all over the country with her mother, winning the Scholastic Decathlon as a sophomore, her and Troy's first date, their breakup over the pros and cons list- just about everything she'd ever felt came back to her through an emotional overload as she finally reached the top of the mountain. Peering over the top, she thought,

_Am I dead?_

The answer did not come to her, and she glanced up at the sky. It was still the pale blue it had been when she left school and the clouds were still fluffy and white. Glancing over the edge of the mountain again, she noticed there was no valley. Instead, there was a clear water lake, which she saw her reflection in when she cast her gaze downward. It was playing out her life for her, starting at the very beginning of childhood and proceeding to now, the end of adolescence. Now she felt like she really _was_ dead, and was seeing her entire life before her eyes.

"_She's beginning to wake up..._"

A voice broke into her trance, and she felt the mountain tremble beneath her.

"_Gabriella... wake up, honey... Gabriella..._"

The mountain shuddered and shook like an earthquake claiming the ground, crumbling into itself and propelling Gabriella into the clear water lake, her life story shattering as she crashed into it. The moment was gone. The silence and the peace gone. She could feel everything come flowing back to her; her lungs breathing, her heart beating, every nerve and sensor in her body feeling again. That floating feeling she had come to love had slowly faded away, and now she got her answer.

She was not dead. Her eyes flew open.

"Ahh, there she is."

Gabriella's soft brown eyes lifted heavily towards the voice, the one she'd come to know as Kathy's, the doctor she'd relied on throughout her whole ordeal. She was standing beside her, adjusting one of the machines she was hooked up to rapidly. Gabriella glanced around from her position lying in the hospital bed- she was hooked up to four or five machines, all monitoring her normal body functions such as heart rate and breathing. The I.V. in her arm was in an uncomfortable position, but she was too weak to try and tell Kathy about it.

"How do you feel hun?" Kathy asked sweetly. "You gave us quite a scare."

She drew in a deep breath, gaining strength to talk. "I feel fine. Just kind of tired."

"Well you've only been out for a few hours. Why don't you try and rest, okay?"

Gabriella nodded, folding her hands upon her stomach and lying back against the pillow. Her eyes flew open. Her stomach. It was flat. "Kathy?"

"Yes?"

"What... happened?"

She grinned. "Well you're not pregnant anymore, for one thing. Your little boy was born before we fixed you up again."

"And what happened... to me?"

Kathy leaned out of the doorway, telling something important to another nurse who nodded and walked quickly down the hallway before turning back to Gabriella. "One of the vital machines we had you hooked up to during the cesarean died, and your body began to panic. You were about to enter a seizure had we not saved you. We got you back with us again, but you were still out of it."

"Oh. I didn't even know what happened."

"Oh I didn't expect you to," Kathy shook her head. "You were in a life or death situation."

"Gabriella!!" Maria Montez wailed as she scrambled into the room, collapsing in a chair beside her daughter. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have acted that way!"

"Mom..." Gabriella started, trying to wrench her hand free from her mother's grip.

"No baby, listen to me. I should never have acted the way I did. It was so stupid of me! I acted like a child! Like a hypocrite! I am a hypocrite!" She sobbed.

"No you're not, Mom..."

"Yes I am!" Maria continued to cry. "I was in the same position you were. Pregnant at such a young age and here I am acting like it's the worst thing in the world and that I wouldn't stand for it!"

"Okay Mom. Don't worry about it," Gabriella soothed in a forgiving tone. "I forgive you. Really."

Maria sniffled slightly, wiping her tears from her eyes. "You do? Because I was such a horrible mother to you these past few months. I mean, really, really horrible. I wouldn't forgive me."

"But I do," Her daughter said, squeezing her hand. "I love you Mom. I need you."

"I love you too, honey." She hugged her tightly to her chest in a motherly way. "And I'm so sorry."

Kathy was paged meanwhile and had left the room. Maria and her daughter spent minutes conversing with each other until a knock was heard on the door.

Troy stood there awkwardly, not wanting to break the mood between the two. But when he saw Gabriella sitting well, he sighed with relief. "Oh god, Gabriella. I'm so glad you're okay."

Maria winked at Gabriella before kissing her cheek and standing. "I'll leave you two alone."

She patted Troy's shoulder as she passed him on her way out the door, and he sat in the chair she was previously occupying. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Wow, this is weird. A month ago, we were in this exact place, except the other way around."

She smiled. "Yeah, but we weren't in the maternity ward either."

He laughed. "That's true."

Gabriella sighed. "Why won't anyone tell me what's going on?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're trying to protect you from the truth."

"That was very poetic."

"Thank you."

"That's why I love that you're here now," She admitted. "Because you'll tell me what's happening. Have you seen the baby?"

Troy winced. "Um... yeah."

"Can we name him now?"

He grinned at her excitement. "Sure. I forgot we haven't picked a name yet."

"Nope," Gabriella shook her head. "Most people usually have about three more months to figure something out."

"You're right."

"Ooh! This is so exciting!" She squealed. "Okay, I'll pick a few names that I like, and then you pick some you like, and we'll each pick one from each other's list. Then we'll choose from there, okay?"

Troy rolled his eyes playfully. "You're still so organized."

"Shut up. Ready?"

"Hold on, I gotta think."

"... Now are you ready?"

"You only gave me a few seconds!"

"Okay! Okay!"

He clapped loudly. "Okay, I'm ready. You can list yours first."

"Alright. I really like the names Lucas, Dylan, and Samuel. What about you?"

"I like Logan, Adam, and Samuel too. I was thinking of that one for a long time."

Gabriella laughed. "Sam?"

Troy nodded. "Sam. Now we just need a middle name."

"No we don't, Troy. We've already got one."

He looked at her in confusion. "We do?"

"We do," She smiled. "Connor."

Troy grinned, kissing her hard on the mouth. "Samuel Connor Bolton. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"I love it."

After informing the nurse of their name choice, Gabriella asked, "Can I see him now?"

Troy cringed. "Gabriella..."

"What?"

The nurse gripped her clipboard nervously. "Dr. Stewart hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?"

"Your son is in very critical condition in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. We can't transport you to the NICU until you've fully recovered."

Tears filled her eyes. "W-What?"

"You haven't recovered from your surgery yet. So we aren't allowed to bring you anywhere, even by wheelchair. I'm sorry."

She left the room and Gabriella turned to Troy. "Did you know this?"

He nodded solemnly. "He's not doing well, Gabriella."

"Why can't I see him?"

"You heard her. You're not well enough. Relax for a couple of days and then they can bring you down."

"You saw him," She accused, her voice low. "What does he look like? Is he normal?"

"Not really," Troy admitted reluctantly. "His skin is really wrinkly and he's really small. He weighs two and half pounds and can't breathe on his own, plus his heart and brain aren't fully functional, so he's hooked up to all this different tubes and machines. It's terrible."

"Oh my god," Gabriella cried. "That's horrible. Is he gonna make it?"

"They're not sure."

At this, she promptly burst into tears, the hyper ballad of emotions flooding back to her all at once.


	12. Like A Star

**Haha you guys. I love your reviews. Seriously, they're always to funny and dramatic. Yes, Gabriella's okay and I literally laughed out loud when some of you thought she was dead. Just because I made this story totally different from the others, doesn't mean Gabriella has to die!! However the baby... well, I won't ruin that for you. ;)  
**

**I own nothing! Nothing I own! Own nothing I! ... That's as many combinations of that sentence as you can make...**

**This chapter title comes from 'Like A Star' by Corinne Bailey Rae. Courtney's lyrical solo.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Like A Star

February fifth should have been a joyous occasion for Gabriella. This was the day she was being released from the hospital, and she should be excited to go home with her new baby so she could introduce him to the world- show him off to friends and family and just relax, knowing the pregnancy was over. The hardest part was yet to come, but she knew she could do it, right? Most teenage mothers end up giving their child up within the few weeks, but Gabriella knew she wouldn't do that. She couldn't. She was so eager to get out of that hospital, and yet, she was so disappointed.

Because her son was not coming home with her.

Little Sam Bolton was in critical condition. He still wasn't breathing on his own, and had a hard time adjusting to the synthetic fluid and formula they were feeding him, so fat was just barely accumulating beneath his wrinkly baby skin. The doctors were monitoring and checking him over more often than the other infant occupants in the NICU. A few other babies had been born prematurely, but not as early as Sam, and therefore were doing far better and improving exceedingly daily. This broke Gabriella's heart, especially when the doctors told the parents they could, 'take their child home within the next few days.'

She wished so much they would say that to her.

Gabriella remembered the time she first saw her son. It had been a two days after her cesarean, since she had recovered early and demanded to see her child. Troy wheeled her down to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, where a few doctors pointed towards a glass incubator in the corner of the room, secluded from the others. What she saw was horribly saddening; a tiny baby, no longer than a ruler covered with tubes and surgical tape, practically holding together. He was still hooked up to the fetal heart monitor, even though he was no longer in the womb, and a ventilator was keeping him alive. She cried hard that day, probably harder then she'd ever cried before.

And now she was leaving. Without him in her arms.

"This just feels so wrong," Gabriella sighed, zipping her jacket and staring straight out of the window. "I shouldn't be leaving alone. He should be here with me."

"Oh honey," Maria sympathized, putting a soothing hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I know this must be so hard on you. But he'll come home soon. You'll see, he'll make it through and then..." She swallowed hard and Gabriella knew she was prevaricating just for her sake. "And then he'll come home with you."

"Mom, he might not make it. That's the first thing the doctors told me!" She exclaimed, turning away from her mother and coming to face the three Boltons, though she didn't look at any of them.

"Gabriella," Anna Bolton placated, her voice soft. "You've got to have faith he'll make it."

"I do," She admitted. "I pray for him everyday... but nothing seems to be working anyway."

"Do you want to see him before we leave?" Troy asked her, touching her arm gently.

She nodded and slipped her hand into his as Jack informed the group he was going to start up the car. Maria and Anna decided to accompany him in order to leave their children alone. Troy and Gabriella walked the long hallway to the NICU in silence; she was trying to calm her raging emotions, he was trying figure out what to say to make her feel better. They checked in with the nurse at the door, who had come to know them quite well over the past few days, and walked inside, heading for the glass bassinet in the far right corner.

"Hey little guy," Troy greeted his son, reaching through the glass to stroke his fine baby hair. "How're you doing in there?"

Sam was sleeping, which was a very good sign seeing as he hadn't been sleeping regularly lately. He was still hooked up to the ventilator in his chest, as well as the heart monitor and a bunch of other necessary machines vital to his survival. It looked slightly intimidating, and anyone who hadn't seen him before would have been afraid of this terrible appearance. Troy and Gabriella, however, were used to it by now, which was good since he wouldn't be losing any of the machines any time soon.

"Hi honey," Gabriella said sweetly, just like her mother had moments before. "You're getting better, right? We need you to get better, Sam."

"Yeah, then we can get you out of here and home with us where you belong."

Sam's eyes flickered slightly and then opened, revealing the bright blue eyes he'd inherited from his father. He turned his head towards them and tears began rolling down Gabriella's cheeks.

"Baby..." She started, and then turned to Troy. "He looks normal. Why isn't he?"

He wrapped his arm around her waist. "His body's too small and too weak to function properly. But he does look normal, doesn't he? I think he's making progress."

"He looked so wrinkly before..."

"That's what I'm saying. He's getting better, Gabriella. I can see it."

Just then, Kathy walked by the two, noticed it was them, and came back. "Troy! Gabriella! How are you?"

"Fine, thanks."

"I'm okay."

"Aren't you supposed to be released today?" She questioned Gabriella, lifting the clipboard by Sam's incubator.

"Yeah. We just wanted to see him before we left." Gabriella peered back at her son, who was glancing around the room aimlessly. His vision hadn't clearly developed yet, and she knew he wasn't seeing anything but a bright, shining blur.

"Well that's quite alright," Kathy nodded understandingly, making some markings on the sheet. "I would too if I were you."

"Kathy," Troy stopped her before she walked away. "How's he doing? Is he making any progress at all?"

Kathy gave them a sad sort of smile and looked down at their baby. "I've got good news and I've got bad news. Which would you like first?"

"The good news."

"Alright," She took a deep breath. "His body isn't rejecting the synthetic food we've been feeding him, so fat has been accumulating beneath his skin, which is vital to keeping his body temperature normal. This is also why his skin isn't wrinkly anymore, which I think you've noticed."

They both nodded simultaneously.

"His muscle tone is increasing slightly, but it's still got a long way to go and his retinas are still forming, so he can recognize your voice, but he can't see you."

"If his retinas don't form correctly, will he be blind?" Gabriella asked worriedly.

"It's possible, but very rare," Kathy answered reassuringly. "We don't expect any eyesight problems, and if any occur they'll be nothing a pair of glasses can't fix."

"Okay."

There was a slight pause before Troy started, "... And the bad news?"

She sighed. "He still can't breathe on his own and his lungs seem to be not working at all. We're pumping oxygen into him to simulate breathing so he'll get the feel of it, and though it's keeping him alive, he seems to be reliant on the simulator and isn't trying to strive towards breathing on his own."

"That's bad."

"Very. The third trimester is a period of rapid brain growth, but since he's no longer in the womb, we'll have to monitor that ourselves and make sure he's controlling everything he needs to. His heart is beating on its own, but still needs to be monitored so it doesn't shut down spontaneously."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "That can happen?"

"Sadly, yes. Basically, the brain, the liver, the kidneys, and the lungs still need to develop. They aren't even fully functioning yet, and we're not quite sure when they will be."

"So how long do you think he'll have to stay here?" Troy asked curiously, tightening his hold on Gabriella. "An estimate?"

Kathy checked the clipboard once more and offered them a sympathetic smile. "Three to four months. If he makes it."

Gabriella closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you."

And throughout their entire ride home, Kathy's voice continued to play over and over in Gabriella's mind,

_If he makes it..._

* * *

Gabriella glanced out the window of her bedroom on a clear warm evening in early March. Life, she decided, was not fair.

It was as if nothing has changed since she left school on that Friday afternoon to give birth to Sam. Nobody looked at her differently. Nobody questioned her about it. Nobody _cared_. Of course Kelsi and Taylor, her two best friends, were constantly asking about how she was feeling and about Sam's progress thus far. But no one else even acknowledged the fact that she was once pregnant just weeks before. True, she did enjoy the matter that no one treated her any different, and she wasn't being called a 'slut' or a 'whore' just because she was pregnant. That was definitely a plus.

But unlike women, she did not get an eight-week maternity leave, and was forced to go back to school as soon as she returned home. And what did she have to show for it? The crib across from her bed remained empty and Sam wasn't doing much better in the past few weeks. It was really hard, but somehow she knew that she'd have to get through this with a positive attitude. As long as she continued to pray for him each night, that's all she had to hold onto. Sighing, Gabriella lifted her pencil to her Calculus homework once more and attempted to complete it.

"_The function is represented by f sub n times the value, x which_-"

A rock collided with the window pane on her balcony doors. She looked up, saw darkness, and ignored it.

"_­_-_which results in the value squared times the_-"

Another rock clanged off the door. Gabriella sighed, ignoring it once more. _It's probably the boys next door_, she thought. _They're always playing with rocks_.

"-_the slope, expressed as either rise over run or the change in x over the change in y, equals_-"

When the third rock smashed against the door, Gabriella put her pencil down and walked hurriedly to her French doors, eager to give her neighbors of piece of her mind. She had homework to do, couldn't they play somewhere else? But when she appeared at the bridge of the balcony, it wasn't Christian and Joey from next door. It was Troy.

"What are you-?"

"Are you doing anything important?"

She glanced back at her room. "Homework."

"Good. Not important."

"It's homework!" She exclaimed.

"It's Friday," Troy yelled back. "Come down here."

Gabriella gave in, somewhat reluctantly. "Okay. I'll be down in a sec."

"You're not going to climb?"

"What do you think I am? Spiderman?"

He laughed as she retreated into her room, a smile on her face when he shouted, "Oh come on! I did it!"

A few moments later she was in her backyard with him, greeted with a kiss. "What are you doing here?"

"There's supposed to be some big luminary thing tonight, isn't there?"

She grinned. "You remembered!"

It wasn't long before they had a huge fleece blanket laid out across the lawn and were sprawled out upon it, gazing up at the stars above them. There were only a few trees in Gabriella's backyard so as to not obstruct their view. Troy's head was resting gently on Gabriella's stomach as she absentmindedly ran her hand through his hair, using her free hand to point out the constellations that shined brightly on such a clear, romantic evening.

"See that big Y up there?"

"Yup."

"That's the Cancer Crab. And that big square with the lines of stars hanging off of it?"

"Yeah?"

"That's Pegasus, the winged horse."

Troy grinned. "Like from Hercules?"

She laughed. "Yeah, exactly. From Hercules."

"What's that up there? The line of three little stars that look like they're connected?"

"That's Orion's Belt," Gabriella informed him contentedly. "His figure is surrounding him. The star in the middle is the brightest because it symbolizes his sword. He was a hunter, you know."

"Oh yeah," Troy remembered. "We learned something about him in our Greek Mythology unit in history a few years ago. Don't the other two stars stand for his two... guard dogs or something?"

"Yeah, Canus Major and Canus Minor. Those are the two constellations next to him. And that big cluster he's standing in front of is Taurus the bull."

"That's so cool."

There was a short silence before Gabriella sighed and pointed at the black sky again. "See those stars up there to the left? The ones that look like a broken kite?"

"Yeah."

"That one stands for Aquarius. And see the brightest star at the top?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's the one I wish on every night for Sam to get better. He's an Aquarius."

Troy pulled away from her and propped himself up on his elbows. She followed suite. "You do?"

"Yeah. Every night I pray to God that he'll make it, but I wish on that star too. My mom always used to tell me, 'A little luck changes everything' and I always thought that was ridiculous. But... maybe it'll work this time." She sighed. "It just has to."

Troy was in awe of what had just come out of her mouth, and was about to respond when the sliding glass door that led to the kitchen opened frantically, Maria standing in the doorway with the phone in her hands.

"Gabriella! Troy!"

They leapt up. "What?"

"Kathy's on the phone. She needs you two at the hospital right away! It's an emergency!"


	13. Incognito

**Well well well. It's an emergency, huh? Well half of you hope it's a good thing, and the other half know it's a bad thing. Which half is right? Well, read and find out! Thank you so much for your reviews! They are much appreciated and it means a lot to me that people are reading and taking the time to review this story. I'm sure there's a few out there who are reading this and not reviewing, and I really hate that. But... I'll let it go. Just please REVIEW!!**

**Thank you. **

**Oh yeah, and Tiffany (strangled.hearts) makes a cameo in this chapter. LOL!**

**I own nothing. -Sighs-**

**This chapter title comes from 'Incognito' by Brooke Hogan. My tap trio with Becca and Emily.**

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Chapter Thirteen: Incognito

The entire car ride to the hospital was silent, with Troy tapping at the keys of his cell phone, informing his parents and friends of what was going on, Maria driving hurriedly but cautiously, keeping a stern eye on the road, and Gabriella clutching and twisting the hem of her shirt nervously, awaiting the arrival at the hospital for this "emergency. Kathy hadn't given any details over the phone, wanting to save the logistics for when she saw them in person, and to be quite frank, they were extremely terrified.

Maria pulled into the hospital parking lot, and Gabriella didn't even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before she unlocked her door and jumped out of the car. Running up the sidewalk, she burst into the front doors, ran down the hallway, and slammed her finger against the elevator button, watching impatiently as it fell to the first level. Troy and her mother caught up with her just as the elevator reached the first floor, and she pressed the 'door close' button along with floor eight.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open slowly, as if they weren't sure they wanted to let Gabriella and the others through. The maternity ward was revealed, expectant mothers walking the hallways while others were completely enamored with their new arrival, cradling it between their arms. Just the mere sight of this made Gabriella's heart ache, and she turned away, reaching for Troy's hand and he offered it to her. The three then made their way to the NICU, but before they could enter, Kathy met them at the entrance.

"Good evening," She greeted them gravely. "I'm glad you're here."

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked urgently. "What's happening?"

Kathy motioned for them to follow her as she entered the NICU. "Sam's condition is worsening. He's... deteriorating right before our eyes."

Her heart sank. _He's... dying_.

"Why... how...?" Troy was lost for words.

"I don't know what happened," Kathy answered, shaking her head. "This week he was doing just fine and then this morning... that's when the trouble started. It seems that Sam's contracted RSV- Respiratory Syncytial Virus. It's almost incurable in infants... but we're trying everything we can."

"RSV?" Maria questioned. "I thought only toddlers could catch that."

"Usually that's the case. But newborns can contract it as well, especially prematurely born newborns. The virus causes wheezing, trouble breathing, coughing, irritability and restlessness, a runny nose, and a low grade fever."

"That just sounds like a cold to me," Troy pointed out.

Kathy smiled. "Well it is a cold, essentially. But it's more of a severe form of the cold. It can lead to pneumonia and organ failure and in Sam's case, this might just happen."

"Is he... going to be alright?" Gabriella asked nervously, afraid of the answer.

"It's a fifty-fifty situation. He was making great progress, but since he's contracted this disease, his progression has slowed and he may not make it."

"Oh."

"We're doing everything we can, Gabriella. Just keep the faith going... keep praying he'll be alright."

She nodded glumly.

"We really just wanted to let you know of his condition. You can go home and try to get some sleep now, okay?"

_Yeah right, like I'm going to be sleeping at a time like this_, Gabriella thought as they made their way back to the elevator. _I'm way too worried to sleep_.

The thing was, even though Sam had been alive for only a month and hadn't even been home once, she loved him to death. She'd never nursed him, she'd never kissed him... she'd never even _held_ him, but she still felt this incredible bond between herself and her son. Because even though she wasn't physically close to him, he was her son and she loved him so freaking much. He was already a part of her life, and there was already a special part in her heart for him.

That's why if he didn't make it, Gabriella would be crushed.

* * *

"... her mother's only treasure! How strange indeed! Man had marked this woman's sin by a scarlet letter, which had such potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her..."

Gabriella only half-listened as her English teacher, Mrs. Collier, read aloud from the novel _The Scarlet Letter_ by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She had no mind for this at such an early hour. It was third period and there was no possible way she could be expected to be reading some classic novel at ten thirty in the morning. And she had no intention of it, as her eyes scanned the pages but did not read, only thinking of how horrible her son's condition was. His RSV was advancing, and it wasn't looking good for him. Glancing at the chalkboard in front of her, Gabriella sighed. It was March nineteenth, only a week after his diagnosis. Time seemed to be going by so slowly...

"Gabriella," Mrs. Collier called on her. "Care to continue from here?"

A few girls in front of her snickered, knowing she hadn't been paying attention. She gulped. "Um..."

"What's the matter? You were paying attention, weren't you?"

She sighed. "No. I'm sorry."

The teacher gave her a stern look. "Alright, Jackie? Continue please."

Just as her classmate Jackie was about to begin reading, Gabriella's cell phone rang out into the middle of the class. She blushed profusely, rushing to turn it off. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"Turn it off or I confiscate it." Mrs. Collier warned.

"I will," Gabriella stated, but glancing at the screen made her eyes widen. She had a new voice-mail. And it was from Kathy.

"Um... Mrs. Collier?"

"Yes?"

"Can I... Can I take this call? It's an emergency."

Mrs. Collier sighed impatiently. "I suppose..."

Gabriella pressed the voice-mail button and waited nervously for the message.

_One new message. From phone number 367-8545. Kathy Stewart._

"_Hi Gabriella, it's Kathy. The doctors and nurses wanted me to contact to you and let you know Sam is not doing any better. He isn't responding well to the treatment and his vital organs are slowing down. Gabriella... this is not a good sign. I realize you're probably in class right now, but we need you to come down right away and make a very important decision. Come as soon as you can... because we don't know how much time he's got left. I'll be at the front desk of the NICU, so check in with me. Thank you and hopefully I'll see you soon. Goodbye._"

Gabriella's heart nearly stopped beating. "M-Mrs. Collier?"

"What's wrong Gabriella?"

"My mother's in the hospital. It's an emergency," She lied. "I really have to go."

Mrs. Collier's face changed dramatically. "Oh, my god! Well, you just go right ahead. I'll call ahead and tell them you're leaving. I hope she's alright, dear."

"Thanks," Gabriella said lamely, gathered her things, and headed out the door.

She practically ran to her locker, twisting the combination lock and whipping it open. Shoving her books atop the shelve, she threw some items into her schoolbag and grabbed it from the hook. Closing and locking the locker, Gabriella hurried down the stairs and to the front entrance, receiving odd glances from the aids at first before one whispered to the other and they nodded, knowing she was excused. Strangely, as she was exiting the school, she ran into Troy.

"Did Kathy call you too?"

"Yeah," He sighed, holding the door for her. "I got out of Trig, so that's a plus."

"Trigonometry is awesome," Gabriella defended. "_The Scarlet Letter_, however? Not so awesome."

Troy laughed and they climbed into his car, driving away to the hospital they knew so well. They chatted here and there, but it was clearly obvious that both of them were immensely worried for the survival of their child. They arrived at the hospital and walked hurriedly but nervously to the elevator which brought them to the eighth floor once again. Kathy, just like she said she would be, was waiting behind the desk of the NICU, checking over some files and making some notes. They approached the counter and she greeted them tiredly.

"Hello guys. I'm glad you're here."

"Your message..." Was all Gabriella could say. She couldn't bring herself to admit that her child just might not pull through.

"Right... well, have a look for yourself," Kathy said sadly. "Preston! Wheel Sam over here!"

A doctor approached with a bassinet and a few machines, and it was all Gabriella could do to keep from crying. There little Sam was, lying in the incubator that was supposed to be keeping him alive. He was crying hysterically, stopping every now and then to cough or wheeze, his face contorting with his every struggle. The ventilator attached to his chest whirred and the heart monitor beeped almost inconsistently. Troy noticed, however, that there weren't as many machines hooked up to him anymore. Was that a good sign?

"Hey, he's not hooked up to that many machines anymore..." He pointed out. "That's good, right?"

Kathy nervously played with her pencil. "Um... about that..."

Gabriella's eyes widened, realizing exactly what this meant. They were giving up hope. "No!"

"I'm sorry..."

"No!" She shrieked again. "You can't give up! Please don't give up on him!"

"Gabriella, that's-"

She shook her head. "No no no. If you give up hope, then we all give up! You're the one who keeps telling me to have faith that he'll get better! But you don't even have faith! You're giving up on him just because of a few complications... how could you?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you two about," Kathy sighed disappointedly. "We have to make a decision."

"What kind of decision?" Troy asked curiously, tearing his gaze away from his son.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush- Sam's dying. We can continue to keep him alive by the ventilator, or we can turn it off and let nature run its course."

Gabriella glanced up at her again. "Turn it off?"

"Yes."

"Gabriella," Troy started. "The ventilator is causing so much tension and it's keeping him alive when he obviously doesn't want to be. Plus, it's so expensive..."

"I know," She agreed tearfully. "But... I don't want to give up. What if we turned off the ventilator and he died, but was going to make progress eventually? We'd feel horrible!"

"What if we turned off the ventilator and he lives?" Troy counteracted her. She bit her lip.

"It's true," Kathy chimed in. "Just because we turn off the machines doesn't mean he'll die right away. He could pull through."

Gabriella thought this over and then turned to Kathy. "Okay... we'll turn it off."

* * *

There was silence in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at midnight on March twentieth. The babies had just been checked over for the last time that night, and the doctors had retreated to the lounge down the hall with their monitors, to know if something were to go wrong. There wasn't much security in that part of the hospital, which made what Gabriella was doing so easy. She was dressed in a pair of jean capris and an old t-shirt of Troy's, but they were covered by a set of blue scrubs and a lab coat she'd found in a closet on her way here. The name tag on the coat read _Tiffany_. She did not look like a Tiffany, but so be it. She approached the door of the NICU.

She was incognito. And she was going in.

The ventilator that was keeping her son alive sat abandoned by his glass incubator. It had been turned off and detached that night, and thankfully he hadn't perished immediately. It was odd, but the low grade fever he'd had the past week had retreated to normal, giving Gabriella a small glimmer of hope, though she knew she probably shouldn't have gotten it. Finding a hard plastic chair in the corner, she dragged it over to his bassinet and sat beside him. As if he knew she was there, his head turned towards her and his eyes flittered open slowly.

"Hi Sam," She cooed, reaching through the glass to stroke his stomach. "It's mommy again."

He made a gurgling noise in response. She grinned.

"You don't know how much I had to go through to get here, honey. I snuck out of my house, stole these ridiculous clothes, and snuck past hotel staff. That's really risky of me, don't you think? I'm not even one to do these things, Sam. It's crazy."

Sam blinked and inhaled slowly. Gabriella began to rub circles around his skin.

"You've got to get better Sam. Come on, I know you can do it. Your daddy and I... we really want you to come home with us. We don't want to lose you. It'll be too hard."

She gasped as he yawned and seemed to settle as her fingers moved rhythmically across his belly.

"You know, you aren't even supposed to be here. In two respects actually. One, because you... weren't exactly planned." She laughed slightly to herself, despite the tears that were slowly falling from her eyes. "Your dad and I are a little too young to be parents. We haven't even finished school yet! I was so scared, Sam. Throughout this whole thing, though I never admitted it to anyone... so don't you tell, okay?"

"I was really afraid for your future and my own. Especially with all of these horrible complications. I thought they would limit your survival rate, which is the other reason you shouldn't be here. You should be born at the end of next month. But here you are... just too early. And you survived that. You're here and you're alive. Please... please don't change that."

Gabriella removed her hand to wipe at her tears and he whined slightly. She was so touched that she had that affect on him, and was quick to replace her hand on him again. "I'm still scared, hun, though it's probably even more obvious now. I don't want to be scared. I want to be happy, like the other mothers here. I'm sure you've seen them, haven't you? They come in here, take their babies into their arms and leave happily. That's what I want. I want you to come home with me."

There was a loud noise in the room adjacent to the NICU, and Gabriella feared she'd be discovered. A voice came from the hallway outside the door.

"Are you serious, Tiff?"

"It was there a minute ago!"

"How could you have lost your scrubs and lab coat?"

"I don't freaking know, okay? Would you just help me look for it?"

"I swear, you're the most forgetful person I know..."

"Shut up, Todd! At least I didn't leave my _kid_ at Chuck E. Cheese!"

"Hey! It was an accident! He was hiding!"

"And that's worse than losing scrubs?"

As Gabriella listened to the two doctors banter, she gulped, turning back to her son. "I don't want to leave yet, Sam, but I think I might have to. I just want you to know how much I love you. How much everyone loves you. We need you in our lives or else they just won't be complete. Please pull through this, honey. I know you can. You've had the strength to pull through everything else..."

Gabriella was near sobbing by this point and had to stop to compose herself. "I need you to make it through. Don't give up. Never give up." She retracted her fingers and kissed them, placing them on his stomach one last time before she left the NICU.

Hopefully, the next call she'd receive would be positive...


	14. In Our Hands

**Last chapter! Last chapter! So thank you all sooo SOO much for reading and reviewing this story for the past few months. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and stuck around to see that it was _not_ like all of the other stories. I promised you it wouldn't be! Now I left you with the suspense last chapter, whether Sam would pull through or not, and I'm sure you are very curious as to whether Sam Connor Bolton is still alive or not. Well, go on! Read and find out already! 'Cause I'm certainly not going to tell you!**

**All dances/songs that our competition team is performing have been used except: 'Le Jazz Hot' by Julie Andrews- my tap solo, 'Eyes Like Yours' by Shakira- Jenn's jazz solo, and 'Up! Up! Up!' by Rose Falcon- Jenny and Stephanie's duet. I've been asked through a PM where you can hear these songs, and most, if not all, of them are on Youtube and iTunes. Go! Go! Go!  
**

**I own nothing. For the last time...**

**This chapter title comes from 'In Our Hands' by Bjork. Arielle's contemporary solo.**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: In Our Hands

_Ring-Ring­_

"I'll get it!" Gabriella Bolton shouted throughout the messy apartment. She pressed the button and called down to the lobby. "Talk to me."

"Gabriella? It's Taylor and Chad."

"Good, come on up. Door's unlocked."

Gabriella proceeded to unlock the apartment door and get back to her work trying to tidy up the place. There was a mixture of different vital things in the room, such as schoolbooks, a laptop, pens, pencils and paper- all things necessary for college students which, even though they were married, Gabriella and Troy were. Bottles and toys were also littered around the room, placed in random places and making it difficult to maneuver in the dense apartment. Gabriella sighed.

Troy came in the room at that very second, dressed plainly in a pair of faded jeans and a green American Eagle sweater. Balancing one-year-old Sam on his hip, he greeted his wife with a kiss. "Morning."

"Morning," She grinned, leaning in to kiss her son's head as well. "Good morning Sammy!"

"Mama!" He squealed, clapping excitedly.

"See how nicely he's dressed in his birthday attire?" Troy showed off. "And you say I don't know how to dress him well."

Gabriella laughed. "He looks good, Troy. Really good."

"Thank you."

"But this isn't what I laid out for him."

"Well he looks better in this red shirt and overalls," He protested. "I couldn't put him in your outfit. He's not going to the prom, Gabriella."

She smirked and he handed Sam over to her, heading into the adjoined kitchen to clean that up as well. Gabriella slipped a pair of white socks on Sam's bare feet and placed him in his playpen, watching as he took to his new surroundings and began to play with one of the toy items in the pen. Troy had proceeded to wipe down the counters, and was now moving on to the dishes while Gabriella organized school papers, put away toys, and yanked out the vacuum. It was a lot of work sometimes.

But she wouldn't have it any other way.

The day after Gabriella had snuck into the hospital late at night, she and Troy received a phone call from Kathy, and they were so afraid that she was going to tell them Sam had passed on. She was crying on the other end, which hadn't helped in any way, and Gabriella put the phone on speaker so she, Troy, and her mother could all hear the call. Kathy was crying tears of joy, not sadness, and she told them to come down to the hospital right away; it was a miracle.

Troy and his parents and Gabriella and her mother all arrived at the hospital in a moment's notice and Kathy greeted them at the lobby. The entire elevator ride to the eighth floor was Kathy telling all of them that Sam had had a miraculous recovery. She stated that usually the infants don't make it in those situations and they were very lucky. Gabriella had cried too, believing that she truly did make a difference when she visited him the night before. She believed that his surviving was in her hands.

"Is Sam's room clean?" Gabriella asked Troy, wrapping the vacuum cord around the handle and putting it away in the closet.

"Yeah, we did that earlier, didn't we buddy?" Troy answered, referring to Sam, who just giggled in response.

When the five plus Kathy had entered the NICU, two doctors grinned and wheeled Sam over to them happily. Troy was so amazed by his recovery that he was speechless. Kathy told them how his fever had completely gone away and the RSV symptoms were fading. All his natural growth was returning and he was making extreme progress. Anna Bolton had tearfully pointed out that he was no longer hooked to _any_ machines, and Kathy stated proudly that Sam no longer needed them.

He would be able to go home in three weeks.

The day of his arrival back at Gabriella's house was very exciting for two different reasons. When Gabriella opened the door, all of her friends yelled out 'SURPRISE!' The entire living room was decorated in a baby shower/welcome home theme, with banners, balloons, and gifts. Troy and Gabriella were both shocked, neither one expecting this kind of welcoming, but enjoying it nonetheless. Taylor and Kelsi cooed and made a fuss over baby Sam, playing with and holding him all day. Gabriella and Troy couldn't have been happier.

"Anyone home?" A voice came from outside the apartment door before the handle twisted and Chad and Taylor walked in. "Hey guys!!"

"I heard it's somebody's birthday!" Taylor cooed, walking over to the playpen happily, a birthday present hid behind her back. "Who's birthday is it today?"

"My! My!" Sam bounced excitedly, his arms outstretched towards her.

"Yours?" She laughed, revealing her present. "Oh look! I guess it is!"

He laughed and she set the present down, scooping him into her arms and hugging him gently. Chad had proceeded to give Gabriella a hug and then head into the kitchen to chat with Troy. Gabriella smiled at her friends. She was so lucky she had them in her life, which was the other reason Sam's homecoming was such an important day. College acceptance (or rejection) letters had come in the mail, and it was decided that both Troy and Gabriella would go to the University of Albuquerque, seeing as they needed their families' help with Sam's care. Taylor decided to attend Florida State University, but still visited as often as she could, while Chad opted towards Central Florida College, to stay near Taylor whom he was still dating.

Then came graduation. Gabriella hadn't been chosen as valedictorian, surprisingly, but still made a simple salutatorian speech. After receiving their diplomas and crying incessantly while hugging old friends, Gabriella and Taylor retreated to the Marriot Hotel where the after-graduation reception was being held. There, an enchanted evening awaited them, and they had a wonderful time. They danced, signed yearbooks, and ultimately spent time with people they may not ever see again. Troy pulled Gabriella aside, taking her into a secluded area in the garden outside and professed his love to her. Tears came to her eyes as he got down on one knee and asked,

"Gabriella, will you marry me?"

Of course she said yes, and their wedding was held just before they went off to college a month and a half later. It was larger than they'd expected, and was done out in a romantic breezy theme, with all of their relatives and friends in attendance. They were not permitted a honeymoon, as they already had a child and were due in classes in a week, but to them this wasn't what mattered. They were a family. And though Sam was the reason they'd gotten married in the first place, they were truly in love, and marriage was always where they were headed anyway.

Troy, Gabriella, and Sam all moved into a small two-bedroom apartment in Albuquerque, not far from the campus and not too far from their parents' houses, so service was always accessible. Troy had morning classes, being the morning person, and Gabriella had nights, her being the night-owl, so one of them was always home with Sam. On weekends, they were home with him together, and that was their favorite time. Today was February first, 2009- Sam's first birthday. It was a Saturday and they were all going to the Bolton's for a big birthday bash Anna and Jack had delightfully agreed to host. Gabriella was floored. She and Troy had actually made things work.

And she never felt more complete.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Sam!! Happy birthday to you!" The occupants of the party sang gleefully.

Sam stared wide-eyed at the large vanilla cake before him. One single giant candle stood lit in the center and he didn't know what to do with it. Glancing around at the people who were staring at him eagerly, he giggled playfully, and the crowd laughed. It was a bright sunny day, perfect the little outdoors party. However Sam had never blown out a candle before, and didn't know what to do. He continued to suck on his fingers while his bright blue eyes scanned the party. Troy was busy trying to catch everything on tape, so Gabriella decided to step in.

"Honey, do you want to blow out your candle?"

He looked at his mother, unsure of how to do so.

"Here do it just like this," She blew into the open air, demonstrating the concept for her son. "Okay? Go ahead!"

Sam inhaled sharply and blew forcefully onto the candle, which flickered slightly but went out. Thunderous applause came and he clapped for himself, seemingly proud of his accomplishment. Gabriella kissed his forehead and ran a hand through his soft blonde hair before turning to the crowd to make the grateful speech she'd prepared for them since the day Sam came home from the hospital.

"I want to thank you all for coming today. I realize it's a Saturday and you probably had bigger and better things to do with your time this afternoon, but you declined to come to this humble little birthday party, and we're so glad you did."

The party guests laughed and Gabriella turned to a group of surgeons near the picnic table. "I'm going to take this time to thank each of you personally. Doctor Reynolds, Doctor Preston, and Doctor Holding- you three are the reason Sam and I are here today. These three performed the c-section and worked in the NICU to help Sam survive. They spent so much time checking and watching over us, and we are forever grateful. Thank you!"

After a few moments of clapping, she turned to Taylor, Chad, and Kelsi. "You guys are my best friends. Honestly, I don't think I've ever had such a great group of supportive and loveable friends. Even though Chad can be somewhat of an idiot at times-"

"Hey!" He shouted.

She laughed. "Sorry! Anyway, you three were always there for me. Whenever I needed anything, whether it was a ridiculous pregnancy craving or a hand to hold at the doctor's office, you were there. I love you guys!"

Gabriella faced Maria, Jack, and Anna. "Mom and Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, I need to thank you guys as well. Right from the start, I knew could count on you. You didn't freak out like other parents would have... even though my mother did and refused to speak to me for several months. But putting that aside, you three strived to be everything I needed in adult support, and I love you for that."

Then she turned to Kathy Stewart. "Oh my god, Kathy. What can I say about you? You're the sweetest person on the entire planet. You helped me through absolutely everything in this pregnancy and never turned me away when I needed you. Even with the complications you tried to make them seem less complicated than they actually were. And, of course, you never gave up on Sam. Any other doctor would have decided to pull the plug right after he was born, but you didn't. Kathy, you're the best and I owe Sam's survival to you. Thank you for absolutely everything you've done for us."

Kathy was tearing up. "Aw, anything for you, hun!"

"And last but not least," Gabriella sighed dreamily. "Troy."

Troy looked at her in surprise. "Me?"

"Yes, you. You didn't run when I told you I was pregnant. You didn't freak out and leave at the first sign of hormonal changes. And most importantly, you didn't turn your back on me. You never gave up. Most boyfriends decide their lives are more important than the one they created and never stick around by their girlfriends' sides. You weren't like that. If I had gone through this alone, god... I don't even know what would've happened. I don't think I could've made it. I love you more than anything... and I needed to thank you for everything you've done."

Troy walked from his position behind the camera to her, embracing her in a passionate kiss. The crowd clapped and Sam squealed from in between them, causing them to break apart and laugh at his excitement. Troy kissed the top of Sam's head and returned to the camera, gesturing for her to go on.

"Okay, continue."

The party laughed and Gabriella adjusted Sam's position on her hip. "So thank you all for coming to Samuel Connor Bolton's first birthday, and now let's have some cake!!"

Everyone cheered and Gabriella set Sam in his highchair near the picnic table, retreating to cut the giant cake. The first piece, of course, went to Sam himself, and she and Troy watched as their son proceeded to dip one finger into the lustrous white frosting and lick his finger clean before grinning and shoving a fistful into his mouth. They both laughed when they noticed the frosting all over his face, as well as a full-split smile. Gabriella handed her digital camera to Taylor and she and Troy posed on either side of Sam while she snapped a photo of the family.

It was picture perfect moment.

* * *

"Sam's asleep," Troy informed his wife as he entered the living room where she was perched upon the couch, writing an essay.

"That easily?" She questioned in incredulity. "Amazing."

"Birthdays must tire him out," He sighed, plopping next to her. "What'cha writing about?"

Gabriella laughed. "The Korean War."

He yawned. "Fun stuff."

"Uh-huh. It's supposed to be eight hundred words due on Monday, and I just started now."

"Another all-nighter?"

"No, I'll work on it tomorrow," She decided, placing it on the coffee table in front of them.

"So today, huh?" Troy asked her after a moment of silence, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Can you believe he's a year old already?"

"I know," Gabriella agreed, cuddling into him. "It seems like just yesterday we were freaking out and wondering whether or not he was going to live."

"Now he's a one-year-old, playing and living his life like nothing was ever wrong," He finished.

"Exactly."

"It's crazy how fast time goes by these days," Gabriella threw out. "Next year, he'll be in his terrible twos, and then the year after that he starts pre-school!"

"Yeah, and then kindergarten..." Troy trailed off. "Wow."

"I wonder what he'll be like when he's older," She wondered. "Maybe he'll be a star athlete like his father."

He laughed. "Maybe he'll be a brainiac smarty-pants like his mother."

"Maybe," Gabriella giggled. "He'll be both."

"He could be," Troy smiled. "After all, the future is in our hands."


End file.
